Russian Oligarch Sergey Protosenya Found Dead with Wife and Daughter in Spain on 19 April 2022
A former top manager at Russian gas giant Novatek , 55-year-old Russian Oligarh Sergey Protosenya was found hanged, while his wife Natalya (53 year old) and teenage daughter Maria had been stabbed to death in a villa in the town of Lloret de Mar near Barcelona on April 19.
Josep Milan, the head of the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force for the province of Girona, which includes Lloret de Mar said that investigators are focusing on the suicide of one person and the double murder of two others, and that everything points to it being a domestic violence crime. He also described reports pointing to the possible involvement of the Russian mafia in the crime as “speculative.”
Russian Oligarch Found Dead with Wife and Daughter in Spanish Villa
A former top manager of Russian Gas Company, Novatek, was found dead in Spain. Sergei Protosenya, along with his wife and daughter, was found dead in a rented villa in the resort town of Lloret de Mar near Barcelona.
His wife Nataliya, 53, and their 15-year-old daughter were hacked to death in their sleep. Sergey was found hanging from the railing of some stairs in the garden.
According to preliminary data, 55-year-old Protosenya hacked his wife and daughter to death with an ax and a knife, and then hanged himself.
What Happened to Sergey Protosenya and His Family?
The Protosenya family lived in France , but they had a house in Lloret. This Easter, the couple and their daughter traveled to the Catalan coast for the holidays. The other son Fedor stayed in France.
Fedor spoke on the phone with his family on Monday (18 April ,2022 ) and everything seemed normal at the Lloret mansion. They were alone at home and did not expect visitors. The next day he was no longer able to contact them.
Fedor contacted the Care Taker Neighbour who was in charge of watching over the estate when the family was away ,who alerted police when he found Mr Protosenya hanging lifeless from a noose tied to a garden railing and the bodies of his wife Natalya, 53, and their 18-year-old daughter Maria inside.
Theories Behind the Mysterious Deaths of a Russian Oligarch and His Family
Police are investigating two possibilities: either Sergei Protosenya killed his wife and daughter before committing suicide, or someone else killed the entire family and then made it look like a murder-suicide.
The Spanish Government Delegation for Gender Violence has registered Sergey’s wife as the 12th person so far this year in Spain to be killed by her partner or former partner, and the 1,138th since records began in 2003.
In 2011 Sergey fortune was estimated at $440 million. Police found six high-end cars, of BMW, Mercedes, Mustang and Audi and at least 10,000 euros cash in the Villa.
Two Ex-Russian Gas Company Executives Found Dead Along With Their Families in Two Days
The deaths of Vladislav Avayev, 51, his wife Yelena, and their 13-year-old daughter Maria happened in their multi-million dollar apartment in Moscow on April 18, 2022 ..
The police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths, but it is believed that Avayev shot his wife and daughter before killing himself. The motive for the killings is still unknown.
Avayev was a senior executive at Gazprombank, a Russian bank that plays a key role in Putin’s plan to impose payment for gas in rubles as a counterattack to Western sanctions.
The preliminary conclusion by the investigators that Vladislav Avayev likely killed his wife and daughter before turning the gun on himself is based on the evidence that has been gathered so far. There were no signs of forced entry into the apartment, and the gun was found in Avayev’s hand.
The deaths of Avayev and Protosenya , tied to Russia’s gas industry occured within two days.
Police Investigate Triple Murder of Gas Executive and Family
There was no suicide note at the crime scene, and Mossos d’Esquadra Police are investigating calls and messages on the family’s phones.
The Mossos d’Esquadra police force has submitted its report on the case of the Protosenya family killings in Lloret de Mar to the Blanes court. The report states that the father, Sergey Protosenya, likely killed his daughter and then his wife with an axe and knives before hanging himself. The police believe that blood stains found on Sergey’s dark clothes support the theory that he committed the murders and then suicide. The motive for the killings is still under investigation, but the police have stated that Sergey Protosenya was anxious about the possibility of his assets being frozen due to the war in Ukraine.
The Investigation Concludes Sergey Protosenya killed his Wife and Daughter
The Blanes court’s conclusion that the April 2022 killing of the Protosenya family in Lloret de Mar was a double murder-suicide . Sergey after killing his wife and daughter, later committed suicide by hanging himself on an outside porch of the mansion with a new rope.
The court’s conclusion is based on the evidence that was gathered during the investigation, including the fact that there were no signs of forced entry into the home and that the murder weapon was found in Sergey Protosenya’s possession.
Key clues to determine that Sergey was the main culprit of all the deaths
- The rope with which he was found hanging was purchased by Sergey himself at a Chinese bazaar in Lloret.
- Sergey’s computers and cellphones showed that he had researched how to kill with a kitchen knife, how to kill with a hammer, and how to tie a knot to hang yourself.
- Blood traces found in the house support the theory that Sergey first killed his daughter by stabbing her in the head with an axe and then stabbing her in the neck. He repeated the operation with his wife, went to wash in the toilet, and finally hanged himself with the rope he had prepared.
- Sergey Protosenya’s son survived the massacre because he was in Bordeaux on the day of the crime.
- The son stated that in the days before the crime, he noticed that his father was acting strangely and was very distressed.
- He mentioned this to his mother, who told him that his father had been in a personal crisis for a week due to the war in Ukraine and the seizure of assets of other Russian oligarchs living abroad.
- Files found on Sergey Protosenya’s computer:
- Instructions on how to save properties in Cyprus
- Instructions on how to manage his bank assets
- Instructions on how to claim back a million-euro loan he had extended to a friend
The court has concluded that the killing of the Protosenya family was a domestic crime. However, the court also found that the war in Ukraine, which had started two months earlier, played a role in the killings. It is possible that the war caused Sergey’s stress and anxiety, which may have contributed to his decision to kill his wife and daughter.
Was the Death of Sergey Protosenya and His Family a Murder-Suicide?
Sergey Protosenya was a well-educated and experienced businessman. He was an engineer and economist at the Kuibyshev School in Moscow, which is now known as the Samara State University of Economics. After graduating, he worked as the chief financial officer of oil company Novatek-Tarkosaleneftegaz and the chief accountant of Novatek, one of Russia’s largest natural gas producers.
The statement from Novatek, a major Russian natural gas producer, that the idea that its former employee Sergey Protosenya could be responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter bears “no relation to reality” is a bold one. It comes at a time when there is still much speculation about the circumstances surrounding the deaths, and when the police investigation is still ongoing.
Protosenya served on Novatek’s management board between 1997 and 2015, the company said.
His fortune was estimated at 400 million euros.
Conclusion On Russian Oligarch Sergey Protosenya and his Family’s Death
- The court’s conclusion is based on the evidence that was gathered during the investigation, including the fact that there were no signs of forced entry into the home and that the murder weapon was found in Sergey Protosenya’s possession.
- The court also considered the statements of Protosenya’s son, who survived the killings because he was in Bordeaux on the day of the crime. The son stated that in the days before the crime, he noticed that his father was acting strangely and was very distressed. He mentioned this to his mother, who told him that his father had been in a personal crisis for a week due to the war in Ukraine and the seizure of assets of other Russian oligarchs living abroad.
- The court’s conclusion is significant because it suggests that the war in Ukraine is having a real and devastating impact on the lives of people, even those who are not directly involved in the fighting.
