shooting death

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov, former Deputy Prime Minister under Boris Yeltsin and the leading Russian Opposition politician was shot four times in the back while crossing a bridge on foot near St. Basil’s Cathedral and The Kremlin. The assassination, which took place in the late evening on Friday, February 27 was carried out by an unknown gunman in a car. Nemtsov, who had once served as governor of Russian city Nizhny Novgorod, had begun receiving death threats over social media. The 55 year old and was visiting Moscow to gain support for a march against the war on Ukraine which would have taken place in the Russian capitol on Sunday. In light of Nemtsov’s death, the scheduled March 1st protest evolved into a rally in memory of the fallen politician. Tens of thousands of protestors attended, many carrying the image of Boris Nemtsov and signs sporting the phrase, “I am not afraid”, as chants of “Russia without Putin” broke out within the crowd. While Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has condemned the killing and claimed he has taken “personal control” of the murder investigation, Nemtsov expressed in an interview on February 10th, “I’m afraid Putin will kill me”. Boris Nemtsov had reason to fear for his life due to his activism and openness regarding his strong opposition to war in Ukraine and many of President Putin’s policies. Law enforcement believes the assassination to be, “a provocation aimed at destabilizing the country”, which was already unstable before the Russian Opposition leader was gunned down. Nemtsov has been described as the “bridge between Russia and Ukraine”, perhaps an ironic comparison, eerily foreshadowing his death.

On Tuesday February 24, former America’s Next Top Model contestant Mirjana Puhar was one of the victims of a triple-homicide in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mirjana, who was only 19 years old, was shot to death alongside her boyfriend, Jonathan Alvarado (23) and his best friend/roommate, Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia (21). The shooting took place in the home of Alvarado and Gonzaga-Garcia shortly after Mirjana had moved in with her boyfriend, who she had only been seeing for a short time, according to those closest to the murdered model. Their bodies were discovered by friends of the couple after hearing gunshots coming from inside the home. The friend who saw the crime scene before police also noted large amounts of money scattered throughout the house. The murderer, 19 year old Emmanuel Jesus Rangel is currently in police custody and has been charged with three counts of 1st degree murder. Rangel has also been charged with a separate murder which he committed on the morning of Sunday February 22, although it is unclear if the shootings are in any way related. Investigators claim Emmanuel Rangel knew the victims of the triple-homicide and their shooting deaths may have been drug-related. Mirjana Puhar, who was born in Serbia, was the 8th place finalist on the recent 21st Cycle of America’s Next Top Model: Guys & Girls. Coming into the competition with a “boyfriend back home”, Puhar immediately struck up intimate relations with Matthew, a fellow competitor, cuddling with him in her bed at night. Once Matthew learned of Mirjana’s relationship status, he broke things off with her. On the very next episode, Mirjana turned her affections towards Denzel, another male model in the house (the man with the horrible beard weave) and quickly began referring to him as her “boyfriend”. As the two continued their affair, flagrantly advertising their sexual relationship, Mirjana would occasionally comment that she should call her long-term boyfriend back home to end her relationship with him. After learning Denzel was not interested in a serious relationship with her, she ended their courtship and called her boyfriend to admit to her unfaithfulness. Failing to mention Matthew, or the fact that she and Denzel had engaged in intercourse on several occasions, her boyfriend forgave her. It would seem that relationship ended as well after he watched the reality show and found Mirjana had been openly cheating on him for quite some time and had not been entirely truthful in her confession. Mirjana’s North Carolinian boyfriend during her time on America’s Next Top Model had nothing to do with her murder and that of her new beau as far as police know. When interviewed by The Charlotte Observer, Marjana stated she was a “wild child” and did not “have the best influences around” her. More information on the murder of reality TV star Mirjana Puhar as it becomes available.