The suspect in the murder, the village head of Plyushchivka, has been remanded in custody for a further month

Viktor Prokopchuk has been remanded in custody in connection with the murder of a village council employee. Photo: NikVesti

The arrest of Viktor Prokopchuk, head of the village of Plyushchivka in the Bashtanka district, who is suspected of murdering village council employee Svitlana Vanzhula, has been extended until 17 June.

The Bashtanka District Court issued the relevant ruling on 12 May, according to NikVesti.

It should be noted that the suspect’s defence requested that the preventive measure be changed to house arrest, but the court refused, granting the prosecutor’s motion.

The period of detention without the possibility of bail has been extended by one month — within the framework of the pre-trial investigation period established for the case.

Murder in Pliushchivka

The tragedy occurred on 17 March at the village council offices in the village of Pliushchivka, Bashtanka District, Mykolaiv Region. The investigation stated that on that day, a conflict arose between the village head, Viktor Prokopchuk, and his assistant, Svitlana Vanzhula, due to a long-standing hostile relationship. During the altercation, the man took a sawn-off shotgun and fired at least three shots at the woman. She died at the scene from her injuries.

The following day, 18 March, village head Viktor Prokopchuk was remanded in custody with the possibility of bail set at over 290,000 hryvnias. Bail was posted for him just one day later, on 19 March.

On 20 March, the prosecutor’s office announced that it intended to appeal the court’s decision regarding the preventive measure for the village head of Pliushchivka. And on 26 March, the Mykolaiv Regional Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the court of first instance. Viktor Prokopchuk was arrested without the right to bail.

The mayor of Bashtanka, Oleksandr Berehovyi, had previously commented on the incident. He refuted the suggestion that the cause might have been an alleged ‘unauthorised usurpation of power’ in the village during the headman’s tenure. According to him, upon his return, Viktor Prokopchuk resumed his duties without hindrance, and the question of his dismissal was not raised.

At the end of March, the victim’s relatives told NikVesti that a week before the murder, Svitlana Vanzhula had reported to the police that the village head had brought a shotgun to work, but the police took no action.

However, the Mykolaiv Regional Police Department stated that the victim had not reported to the police regarding threats or the presence of a weapon at the workplace of the suspect, Viktor Prokopchuk.