Snelli Park Killer Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
Harju County Court has sentenced Vjatsheslav Bajuk, known as the Snelli Park killer, to 20 years of imprisonment, for bludgeoning one woman to death with a baseball bat and injuring another badly on November 23, 2009.
Bajuk worked as a chef in a well-regarded Old Town restaurant and was detained by the police on August 26, 2010 after a woman had accused him of attempted rape.
On March 21, the court found Bajuk guilty of murder, attempted murder, rape which occurred many months later, and driving under influence.
The criminal investigation in this case was a major challenge for both the police and the prosecutor's office, involving interrogation of hundreds of potential suspects, said prosecutor Ainar Koik of the Northern District Prosecutor's Office.
During the hearing, defense attorney Alexander Kustov sought reduction of the charge to manslaughter, carrying a significantly milder sentence. According to Kustov, there was not enough evidence to prove that Bajuk had killed the woman in a cruel and unusual way.
The defense also sought reduction of the attempted murder of another victim to assault and motioned for the rape charges to be dropped. Kustov only admitted his client's guilt in drunk driving.
Ingrid Teesalu