5 Slain in Calif.; Suspect Sought

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer

August 20, 2001

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A 27-year-old man stabbed his pregnant wife to death Monday and then drove to a home in a nearby suburb and killed four more relatives before fleeing with his 3-year-old son, authorities said.

Nikolay Soltys, a Ukrainian immigrant with no known criminal record, was being sought for the slayings of his wife, aunt and uncle, and two young cousins, Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. James Lewis said.

Authorities divulged no motive, but said Soltys has a history of mental instability and domestic violence.

At least two of the victims stumbled outside after they were attacked and blood stains were clearly visible near the body of a 10-year-old boy. Authorities said the crime scenes were gruesome.

"We want to get this guy off the streets as quickly as possible," Lewis said.

A national manhunt was under way and officers were posted at bus terminals and airports in the Sacramento area. Lewis said detectives also were investigating reports that Soltys was headed to Oregon and that he has relatives there.

"We will not rest until the coward responsible for this murderous rampage is apprehended and brought to justice," said Gov. Gray Davis, who ordered all available resources be provided to the Sacramento sheriff's department.

Soltys' 27-year-old wife was stabbed at their home in North Highlands some time before 10 a.m. Monday. Authorities said she managed to stumble to a neighbor's doorway, where she collapsed. Neighbors called police.

The other victims -- a couple and their grandchildren, a 9-year-old girl and the 10-year-old boy -- were found a short time later at a duplex in Rancho Cordova, about 10 miles away.

The girl was attacked inside the home but was able to run into the street, where she was found by neighbors, authorities said. She was pronounced dead at a hospital; a spokeswoman there said the girl had been stabbed.

The boy's body was found on a walkway outside the complex. Police covered him with a blanket, but a blood stain remained visible on the wall above him.

The suspect's aunt and uncle were found slain in the second story of the home. Authorities did not immediately say how the four were killed and no names were released.

"It's really uncommon and it's alarming that he would be in such a fit of rage," Lewis said. "To carry that rage to a second scene, to a second location, really speaks to the amount of danger we're dealing with."

Soltys had been rejected by the Ukrainian army as mentally unfit before he moved to the United States, said Chaplain Frank Russell of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, who counseled the family Monday. The couple had a history of domestic violence in Ukraine, he said.

Oleg Bogush, a 19-year-old neighbor of Soltys, said the suspect arrived in Sacramento from Binghamton, N.Y., more than a year ago.

He said Soltys didn't have a job, but took English classes five days a week with his sister. Police said he was to begin attending a community college in Sacramento Monday.

Bogush said Soltys didn't talk much to his neighbors, and apparently didn't speak up in class either.

"The teacher would ask him questions and he would just sit there silently; it was like thoughts just drained out of his head," Bogush said.

His wife, several months pregnant, came reluctantly to the United States five months ago, the chaplain said. She was to start a new job Monday.

Outside the duplex, neighbors said the couple who were slain lived in half of the building and their sons lived with their wives and children on the other side.

Zoya Zukharsky, a neighbor of the slain couple who said she was close to Soltys and his wife, was dumbfounded by the slayings.

"We were very close friends, our kids loved his boy. Why this happened, we have absolutely no idea," she said.

"The last time I talked to him was on Friday -- he was very happy, nothing seemed wrong at all. His wife had just gotten a job and was supposed to start today. She seemed satisfied with life. It was absolutely unexpected."

Sacramento, California's capital with 1.2 million people, is home to more than 50,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union, mostly from Russia and Ukraine. The killings sent a shock wave through the community.

"I just don't have any words to express for that," said Roman Romaso, an 11-year resident and director of the Slavic Community Center.

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On the Net: http://www.sacsheriff.com
Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press

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: I have been listening all day to updates, from Sacramento CA,
: on a man suspected of stabbing his wife to death, then
: driving to a day care center and stabbing an elderly
: couple, a 10 year old, a 9 year old, and an infant to
: death. They were members of his family. He then is
: suspected of taking a 2 year old with him. He is from the
: Ukraine. There is something very wrong with this
: story, but I cannot place my finger on what it is. Is
: California really that bad of a place, or is there more
: going on out there than what is told by the media?