Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel
Jurijus Kadamovas (born October 22, 1966) and Iouri Gherman Mikhel (born 1965) are Soviet immigrants to the United States, from Lithuania and Russia respectively, currently on Federal death row for five kidnappings and murders. The kidnappings occurred over a four-month period beginning in late 2001, in which the kidnappers demanded ransom.[1]
Jurijus Kadamovas | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 22, 1966 |
| Criminal penalty | Death (March 12, 2007) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 5 |
Span of crimes | October 2001–January 2002 |
Date apprehended | February 2002 |
| Imprisoned at | United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute |
Iouri Mikhel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Iouri Gherman Mikhel 1965 (age 55–56) |
| Criminal penalty | Death (March 12, 2007) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 5 |
Span of crimes | October 2001–January 2002 |
Date apprehended | February 2002 |
| Imprisoned at | United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute |
Documents related to the case allege the crew demanded a total of more than $5.5 million from relatives and associates, and received more than $1 million from victim's relatives.[2] Prosecutors said the victims were killed regardless of whether the ransoms were paid. The bodies were tied with weights, and dumped in the New Melones Lake near Yosemite National Park. Federal prosecutors sought the death penalty under murder during a hostage-taking, (18 U.S.C. 1203), a federal crime.[3]
On March 12, 2007, Kadamovas and Mikhel were sentenced to death. Four others were sentenced for participating in the plot, receiving sentences ranging from 11 years to life imprisonment.[4]
Background
Jurijus Kadamovas was born on October 22, 1966 in Lithuania, and Iouri Gherman Mikhel was born in 1965 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[5] Both men were foreign nationals who emigrated to the United States and lived in Los Angeles, California. They each owned a house in San Fernando Valley, with Kadamovas living in Sherman Oaks and Mikhel living in Encino. The men owned a joint business called Designed Water World, which was a fish aquarium store located on Ventura Boulevard.[6]
Murders
Meyer Muscatel
In October 2001, Kadamovas and Mikhel came up with a plan to lure and kidnap 58-year-old Meyer Muscatel, a local real-estate developer. Mikhel posed as a businessman interested in buying real estate. Muscatel was lured to Mikhel's house in Encino where Kadamovas and another accomplice were waiting. Muscatel was bound, handcuffed, duct-taped and pistol whipped in the head. His wallet and credit cards were taken and he was then questioned about his finances. Kadamovas and Mikhel attempted to withdraw money from his account but the bank account was frozen. Muscatel was then injected with diphenhydramine and pinned to the ground, where Mikhel placed a plastic bag over his head and suffocated him to death. Muscatel’s body was then taken in Kadamovas’ van to the New Melones Lake. The pair then tossed his body off Parrotts Ferry Bridge into the reservoir.[7]
Rita Pekler
Their next target was 37-year-old George Safiev, a wealthy Russian businessman who lived in Beverly Hills. In December 2001, the pair abducted Safiev’s financial advisor, 39-year-old Rita Pekler, who was pregnant at the time. Kadamovas had contacted Pekler pretending to be interested in real estate transaction. She was lured to his Sherman Oaks home where Mikhel, armed with a handgun and stun gun, was waiting with two other accomplices. When Pekler arrived, Mikhel restrained her and told her to contact Safiev. She made contact but Safiev told her he was too busy to meet. Pekler was then injected with diphenhydramine and strangled to death. Her body was also thrown off the Parrotts Ferry Bridge into the reservoir.[8]
Alexander Umansky
The third victim was 35-year-old Alexander Umansky, who owned an automobile shop. In December 2001, Mikhel posed as a customer and pretended to need audio equipment installed in several cars. Umansky was lured to the home of Kadamovas where he was ambushed. Kadamovas sat him on a chair and handcuffed him. He had his keys, telephone, and wallet taken from him and was then questioned about his finances. Umansky was held captive in the house for three days, during which he was forced to call his brother and beg for money to secure his release. Kadamovas and Mikhel also sent the Umansky family a ransom note demanding nearly $235,000.[9] The family contacted the FBI, where they were advised to pay a part of the ransom. They later received a call in which other family members were threatened, forcing them to pay the rest of the money. The money was transferred to an account in the United Arab Emirates. The calls then stopped.[6]
After receiving the money, Kadamovas and Mikhel decided to kill Umansky. Mikhel duct-taped Umansky’s mouth shut and placed a bag over his head, while Kadamovas pinned him down and pinched his nose shut. They then twisted a rope around his neck and strangled him to death from behind. They tied a weight plate around Umansky’s body and put his corpse in Kadamovas’ van. They then drove to the New Melones Lake once again, where they threw Umansky’s body off a bridge into the reservoir.[8][10]
Nick Kharabadze and George Safiev
In January 2002, Kadamovas and Mikhel decided to target Safiev again, as he had returned from a trip and was back in Los Angeles. They planned to get him through his business partner, 29-year-old Nick Kharabadze. Kharabadze was contacted and asked to meet at a private club, which was actually the aquarium store owned by Kadamovas and Mikhel. Kharabadze arrived at the store and was then handcuffed to a chair by Mikhel. He was ordered to call Safiev and to convince him to come to the store. Safiev arrived and was taken prisoner. Both hostages were then taken to Kadamovas' house, where they made Safiev call another business partner of his and plead with him to transfer $940,000 to a foreign account. Kharabadze and Safiev remained imprisoned in the house for four days. While held captive, Kadamovas recorded Safiev’s voice, planning to use the recordings to extort more money in the future. Mikhel eventually confirmed receipt of the $940,000, and then decided to kill the two men. They forced both the victims to drink vodka and then took them to the reservoir in two cars. Mikhel killed Kharabadze at the reservoir by placing a plastic bag over his head and tightening a plastic tie around his throat. A weight was then tied to Kharabadze’s body and he was thrown off a bridge into the reservoir. The same thing then happened to Safiev.[8]
Investigation
Muscatel’s body was found near the Parrotts Ferry Bridge by fishermen. An accomplice of Kadamovas and Mikhel learned the FBI was investigating the case and were onto him. He decided to confess and cooperated with the FBI. He helped them find the bodies of the other four victims.[11] The FBI wire-tapped the phones of Kadamovas and Mikhel and recorded them discussing ransom money. They also secured data from their cellphones. The data showed both men had been driving north on Highway 99 toward the New Melones Lake on the days each victim had died.[8]
Other evidence linked the men to the murders. Muscatel's body had been carried to the edge of the Parrotts Ferry Bridge and was accidentally dropped on a curb where it had left blood stains. Kadamovas had also told a friend he had thrown a man off that bridge. Mikhel and an accomplice had used Umansky’s debit card to withdraw money from an ATM which had been captured on video by a surveillance camera. Mikhel had also used Kharabadze’s and Safiev’s ATM cards to withdraw money and was caught on video from surveillance cameras once again. The FBI also searched the homes of both men and found physical evidence linking them to the crimes, including ransom notes and weapons.[8]
An IRS investigator traced how the ransom payments were laundered. He discovered that the payments were laundered abroad before being deposited in accounts held by Kadamovas and Mikhel. In total, Kadamovas and Mikhel received over $1 million in ransom money from the kidnappings.[8]
Trial
Both men were detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles. A grand jury indicted Kadamovas and Mikhel on multiple counts. The government filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against both men.[12]
The guilty phase of this trial began in July 2006 and spanned five months. On January 17, 2007, the jury found both defendants guilty on all counts.[13] On March 12, 2007, both men were sentenced to death.[14] U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian formally sentenced both men and called the murders brutal, adding that "the methods in which the individuals were killed, the perpetrators showed no mercy".[15]
Both men are currently on federal death row awaiting execution and are imprisoned at USP Terre Haute. Their death sentences were upheld in 2018.[16]
References
- "Two men sentenced to death in California reservoir bodies case". Orange County Register. March 12, 2007.
- "Rare Federal Death Penalty Trial Begins for two Accused of Yosemite Kidnappings, Murders". FoxNews.com. Associated Press. September 5, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- "Bring up the bodies: the retired couple who find drowning victims". The Guardian. January 16, 2020.
- "Judge sentences 2 to death in murder case". Los Angeles Daily News. March 13, 2007.
- "Two Soviet Emigrants Sentenced to Death in California for Yosemite Killings". Russian Spy. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- "Victims' Families Sentenced to Silence". Los Angeles Times. October 17, 2006.
- "United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Iouri Mikhel & Jurijus Kadamovas, Defendant-Appellants" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. May 9, 2018.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - "United States v. Mikhel, 07-99008 (9th Cir. 2018)". Court Listener. May 9, 2018.
- "Five California bodies linked to Russian Mafia". CNN. March 21, 2002.
- "Report: Calif lake used in mob kidnap scam". United Press International. March 20, 2002.
- "4 Immigrant Killings Linked to Russian Kidnapping Gang". The New York Times. March 23, 2002.
- "Trial to start soon in brutal series of kidnap-slayings". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- "Federal jury finds businessmen guilty in kidnapping, killing of five". Los Angeles Times. January 18, 2007.
- "Final Sentences Given in Ca. Kidnappings". The Oklahoman. February 21, 2008.
- "Death sentence in Calif. ransom killings". Boston.com. March 12, 2007.
- "Death sentence upheld against 2 men in California killings". The Seattle Times. May 9, 2018.