New details emerge about the brutal February attack on a family near Smolevichi

Around four in the morning, the homeowner heard dogs barking and noticed three men in dark clothes and masks in the yard. As they approached the house, he managed to press the alarm button. The attackers did not notice this, broke a window, and entered the building.

Inside the house were the 63-year-old owner, his 65-year-old wife, and his 67-year-old brother. The assailants were armed with pistols, a bat, a knife, and other objects. They beat the people, threatened them with weapons, forced them to kneel, and demanded their personal details. Everything was recorded on video.

It was later revealed that the attack was a contract crime. Three young Russians received an assignment via Telegram: to find a specific house, beat a man and a woman without killing them, and record the result on video. They were promised money for this. The attackers were two 18-year-old residents of the town of Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, and a 17-year-old teenager from Nizhny Novgorod.

According to the testimony of one of the suspects, initially, the discussion was about 50,000 Russian rubles (about $590), then about 150,000 (about $1,500), and after arriving in Belarus — already about 300,000 (about $3,000) for the three of them. One of the participants had previously been involved in boxing and agreed to the job because he had financial problems.

As the investigation suspects, the client may be a Russian man who was the cohabitant of the victims' daughter. He once beat the woman, and she filed a police report. After that, the man threatened to harm her relatives.

During the attack, the homeowner was repeatedly hit with a bat, including on his back and leg. His brother was hit in the jaw area. The woman was also beaten on the arm with a bat, and then a rolled-up cloth was stuffed into her mouth to prevent her from screaming. All three victims sustained various injuries and were taken to the hospital.

The situation could have ended much more tragically if the homeowner had not managed to raise the alarm. Police officers who arrived at the scene heard the sound of a struggle and blocked the building. During the arrest, the attackers resisted, so officers of the Security Department used firearms. Two assailants were detained on the spot, and the third was soon found in the Smolevichi district.

The investigation also obtained a video recording from the phone of one of the participants, which allowed clarifying the actual number of blows struck.

According to the defendants, they allegedly only wanted to scare the victims and had no intention of causing them serious injuries. Investigators consider these statements an attempt to mitigate responsibility.

Two defendants have been charged with attempted intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm. The third, who directly maintained contact with the client, is additionally charged with another article of the Criminal Code.

After the completion of the investigation, the criminal case has been forwarded to the prosecutor's office.

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