Russian scientist who developed Covid vaccine found dead, was strangled with belt: Report
Andrey Botikov, a Russian virologist, who helped develop the country’s COVID vaccine Sputnik V, was strangled to death with a belt on Thursday.
The suspect was arrested hours after Botikov’s body was found, the federal investigative agency said in the statement.
According to investigators, the 29-year-old suspect strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument. Law enforcement agencies said the murder was a domestic crime and the result of a conflict, the report said.
The investigating authority in Russia said that the death of the virologist is being investigated as a murder.
Andrey worked as a senior researcher at the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology.
He formerly worked as a senior scientist at the Russian State Collection of Viruses of DI Ivanovsky Institute of Virology.
Botikov was among the 18 scientists who worked on the development of Russia’s Sputnik V covid-19 vaccine in 2020.
