Missing Prosecutor Found Dead, Police Say Suspected Killer Committed Suicide

A prosecutor in Samegrelo region, who went missing on January 13, was found dead in a flat in Tbilisi’s Saburtalo district late on January 16 with bodily injuries and gunshot wounds to the head, the Interior Ministry said.

Police said prosecutor Vakhtang Kiria’s relative Bidzina Kutchava, who owned Sakartvelos Khma (Voice of Georgia) TV and radio station, was identified as a suspected killer. The Interior Ministry said that items, found at the crime scene, which it said were bought by Kutchava, as well as pattern of Kiria’s bodily injuries suggest that perpetrator attempted to dismember the body for the purpose of concealing the crime.
 
According to the Interior Ministry, several hours after Kiria’s body was found in a flat, which the police said was rented by Kutchava, the latter was spotted by the police driving from Saburtalo to Ortachala along with two other persons, whose identities were not specified by the Interior Ministry. After the patrol police pulled over the car close to the Public Service Hall, Kiria pulled his gun and shot himself in the head, the Interior Ministry said.

The Interior Ministry said in its statement that the murder was not related to Kiria’s prosecutorial work; it, however, did not say anything about possible motives of the crime. The Interior Ministry said it continues investigation “establish the truth of the matter.”

Kutchava’s relatives, who dispute official version, invited an independent forensic expert for examination of Kutchava’s body. They say that along with gunshot wound to the head, Kutchava also has other bodily injuries. His widow told journalists that she does not believe her husband committed suicide and that he killed Kiria, with whom he had “excellent and warm” relations.