Ukrainian investigators on Tuesday found what they believe are the remains of the skull of a journalist who was kidnapped and decapitated nearly nine years ago, officials said.
The damaged skull, thought to belong to Heorhiy Gongadze, was found in a village outside Kyiv, Prosecutors’ spokesman Yuriy Boychenko said.
The discovery comes days after authorities arrested a key suspect who allegedly promised to pinpoint the location of the head.
Gongadze, who wrote about corruption among Ukraine’s political elite, was kidnapped in September 2000. His decapitated body was found outside Kyiv several months later.
Opponents and rights groups accused then-President Leonid Kuchma of involvement in the slaying. The killing sparked months of protests against Kuchma after a key witness released tape recordings in which a voice that sounded like Kuchma’s is heard complaining about the journalist and suggesting subordinates deal with the problem.
Kuchma has denied the allegations.
Last week, security officials arrested Oleksiy Pukach, a former top police officer, who had been allegedly charged with taking part in the murder but had been in hiding for years. They said Pukach has confessed and said he would help find Gongadze’s head.
Prosecutors say they believe Pukach strangled Gongadze. Three of his former subordinates who helped bring Gongadze to the spot where he was killed were sentenced to lengthy prison terms last year. Experts said Gongadze was decapitated after his death.
Prosecutors have not established who ordered the crime. Gongadze’s family has urged the authorities to continue the investigation.
