A construction worker beat his relative to death and sealed his body under a concrete floor “because he constantly drank alcohol and was lazy”.

The horrific crime was discovered after another of the man’s relatives in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, reported his disappearance to the Russian police on 24th May.

The man had been due to catch a flight home in April but had failed to board, and nothing had been heard from him over the following weeks.

A probe into his disappearance was opened and found that he had been doing building work with a relative in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Russia, on an island close to Japan.

The 44-year-old relative told the authorities that the missing man had left for Yuzhno-Kurilsk Airport on 22nd April to fly home via Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

But investigators soon determined that he had never left Yuzhno-Kurilsk, and identified the relative as a criminal suspect.

Police officers went to the house that the two relatives had been doing building work on.

During a search of the property, they noticed a stain on the lino floor covering in a room.

After removing the flooring, they observed that the concrete in that spot looked different to the rest of the concrete floor.

After cracking it open, they discovered a body wrapped in a blanket and plastic.

The builder was arrested and taken into custody. He is charged with “intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in the unintentional death of the victim”.

According to the investigation, the victim had often been drinking heavily and his work on the project had been of poor quality, which had angered his relative.

During one of their frequent arguments, the relative had punched him repeatedly in the face and head, killing him.

He had then sealed his body under the floor in a bid to evade justice.

The investigation is ongoing.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Sakhalin Region said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “The Investigative Department of the Korzakov Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Sakhalin Region is handling a criminal case against a 44-year-old foreign citizen who is accused of committing a crime under Part 4 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in the unintentional death of the victim).

“At the end of April 2023, relatives of the 44-year-old foreign citizen, who was working on the construction of a private house in the town of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, contacted the Korzakov Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Sakhalin Region, stating that he had not been in contact for a long time, and his whereabouts were unknown.

“Investigators established that the man may have been the victim of a crime. In order to establish all the circumstances of the incident on Kunashir Island, an investigative-operational group was dispatched, consisting of an investigator from the Korzakov Interdistrict Investigation Department, a senior investigator-criminalist from the forensic department of the investigative committee, and police officers.

“Through investigative actions and operational search measures, it was determined that the 44-year-old relative of the victim, with whom they were working, was involved in the commission of the crime.

“According to the investigation, the men had been working on the construction of a private house for a long time, and the victim frequently abused alcoholic beverages and performed construction work of poor quality, which caused dissatisfaction with his relative. This led to frequent arguments between them. During one of the conflicts, the accused inflicted multiple blows with his fists to the head and face of the victim, resulting in the latter’s immediate death.

“In an attempt to avoid responsibility for his actions, the man wrapped the victim’s body in fabric and plastic wrap, then buried it in a niche in the floor of the under-construction building and filled it with a mixture of concrete.

“Investigative actions aimed at collecting and securing evidence are being carried out in the criminal case, and at the request of the investigator, the court has ordered the accused to be held in custody as a preventive measure.”