Rampage Suspect on FBI Most Wanted List  

By DON THOMPSON
.c The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Aug. 24) - The man suspected in a rampage that killed six family members may have several thousand dollars at his disposal as he tries to elude a manhunt that now has him on the FBI's Most Wanted list, authorities said.

Nikolay Soltys, 27, is believed to have stolen several thousand dollars from the home where he allegedly killed his aunt, uncle and two young cousins Monday, said sheriff's Capt. John McGinness. He also allegedly extorted money from community members, meaning he could have up to $15,000 in cash on hand.

''If you look at the handful of his associates and the people he could intimidate for things like welfare money, he could be pretty well set in terms of cash,'' McGinness said.

Despite reports placing Soltys in the Southeast, police believe he is probably still in the Sacramento area. The reward fund for his arrest rose to $70,000 on Thursday as Soltys' name was placed on the Most Wanted List.

Adding Soltys to the list means more publicity and manpower, said Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas. ''Most wanted'' posters of Soltys will be posted nationally and internationally, said Richard Baker, special agent in charge of the FBI's Sacramento office.

Soltys is accused of stabbing his pregnant wife to death on Monday and then driving 20 miles to the suburb where he allegedly slashed the aunt, uncle and cousins. Authorities said Soltys showed up bloody and disheveled at his mother's house shortly after the slayings, where he picked up his 3-year-old son, who was later found with his throat cut.

That contradicts the mother's earlier claims her son was calm and clean.

''We never did believe it,'' McGinness said. ''She's still reluctant to say she saw blood, but she did.''

Soltys left a cryptic note on the back of a photograph suggesting he killed his family members to punish them and other family members for speaking outside the family.

But police suspect Soltys may have gone to his relatives' home in Rancho Cordova looking for money to help him flee after killing his wife.

Police also believe he may have pressured elderly Sacramento immigrants for a portion of their monthly aid money.

''He's a thug,'' McGinness said.

Tight-knit immigrant communities facing language barriers and cultural isolation are especially vulnerable to such threats and extortion, said Marouf Jwanmery of the National Crime Prevention Council in Washington, D.C. Immigrants, now 25 percent of California's population, will often pay cash to avoid beatings, Jwanmery said.

Distrustful of banks and police because of bad experiences back home, immigrants are doubly vulnerable, he said. ''They have cash under the mattress,'' he said.

Soltys likely has criminal associates helping him avoid capture, police said, possibly involved with an auto-theft ring. Soltys may have had access to unregistered cars, such as the mid-90s emerald green Ford Explorer in which he was last seen, McGinness said.

Because he has killed with such ease and brutality, McGinness said, Soltys is likely to strike again. ''He does appear to get some satisfaction by what he's done. There are easier and simpler ways to commit a murder. I think he enjoys it.''

AP-NY-08-24-01 0353EDT

Cops protecting members of suspected killer's family

Updated: Aug. 22, 2001 - 4:11 p.m.

With the suspected killer of six family members still at large, 12 to 14 members of his family are in protective custody, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department investigators said Wednesday.

Nikolay Soltys, who is suspected of stabbing six people to death month, apparently harbored lethal feelings against his victims and others over some sort of criticism of him, investigators said.

Authorities also said they now believe Soltys has a new vehicle and that the reward for his capture has climbed to more than $30,000.

A nationwide manhunt has not turned up the 27-year-old immigrant from the Ukraine.

Investigators say Soltys apparently was carrying out a deadly planned revenge. Photographs were found in Soltys' abandoned car of several of the victims and several surviving family members. There was numbering and a writing in Russian on at least one photo.

A spokesman for the investigation said the family members in protective custody have been moved to locations "other than their own homes."

A photograph of Soltys' pregnant wife, Lyubov, 23, was numbered "1." The Russian written on the back translated to "This is for Lyubov for her speaking or for her tongue," said lead investigator Ron Garverick of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Lyubov was the first to die in the Monday morning rampage, followed by Soltys aunt, uncle, two of their grandchildren and finally Soltys' 3-year-old son, Sergey.

"We are learning more and more what a cold-blooded killer this individual is," said Sacramento Sheriff Lou Blanas

Numbered "2" on the same photograph was Zoya, the mother of Tatyana Kukharskaya, 9, said Garverick. "Again for her speaking or for her tongue."

Numbered "3" was Sergei, the father of 10-year-old Dimitriy, found dead in front of his Rancho Cordova home. The reason was also "for his tongue," Garverick said.

Zoya and Sergei were not attacked on Monday.

Also killed Monday were the grandparents of the two children, Galina Kukharskaya and Petr Kukharskiy.

Tatyana's twin sister and another sister apparently also were targeted by Soltys but fled before they could be attacked, police said.

Garverick said the assumption is that the killings were related to relatives talking about private marital problems.

"I don't want to say it (the writing on the photograph) was a hit list, but it certainly indicates he was able to sit down and write things and think about what he was doing," Garverick said.

Garverick also described more details in the scene of Tuesday disheartening discovery of the body of Soltys' son.

The body was discovered Tuesday afternoon in a cardboard box on a trash heap near a Roseville telephone tower.

Detectives said Soltys left a note in his abandoned car Monday night that lead them to the body.

Detectives had hoped the boy would have been left alive in a box and, because of cool temperatures, he could still be found unharmed.

The box that contained the boy's body was found atop a trash heap in a grove of tall oak trees. The area is near a dirt road that the killer apparently drove down and parked. It was not immediately clear if he was driving the Explorer or the gray Nissan recovered on Monday night, Garverick said.

Garverick said two sets of footprints lead up to the trash heap, one set belonging to an adult who is barefooted and the other apparently belonging to a child wearing sandals.

The box, which detectives believe was found at the scene and not brought there by Soltys, was large enough to carry a 36-inch television.

Garverick said it appeared Soltys brought along new toys to entice and reassure his son as he put him in the box. Garverick said it appeared the boy was killed with a knife once he was inside the box. The wounds on the boy appear to be consistent with those of the other five victims, he said.

Garverick said there also was evidence found that the boy "had been violated," but he refused to specific details.

The reward for Soltys' capture has grown to more than $30,000 because of a $10,000 contribution from the U.S. Marshal's Office and another $10,000 from a anonymous contributor from Granite Bay. Blanas said more private contributions are rolling in and a reward fund is being established through the Carol Sund Carrington Foundation.

Garverick also said he believes Soltys has another vehicle, which he obtained Monday after killing his wife then four other relatives.

The vehicle is described as a mid-90s Ford Explorer, four-door, emerald green at the top, silver paint at the wheel line and below. It has factory wheel rims, Firestone tires and a rear hatch that is a lighter green and doesn't match.

The Explorer was last seen near Auburn and Madison at about 8 p.m., Garverick said. The vehicle was taken by a man fitting Nikolay Soltys' description, the detective said. At the time the man was accompanied by a young boy believed to be Sergey.

The information on the Explorer comes from a source who did body work on the vehicle. The source was familiar with Soltys and there was no doubt in his mind that it was the alleged killer and his son that he saw Monday, Garverick said.

New information about Soltys having transportation and also an ability to speak English have opened up many possibilities as to where he could be hiding, Garverick said.

"I'm not making any assumptions, what I'm saying is he can be anywhere," Garverick said.

-- Bee Metro Staff

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