Artificial intelligence has helped Russian investigators solve a murder that occurred 27 years ago in Moscow.
The case involves the killing of former district prosecutor Vitaly Tikhomirov and his wife Victoria. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the crime took place in December 1998.
The couple's daughter alerted police after failing to reach her parents. Officers found both bodies tied up with multiple stab wounds. Thieves had stolen a expensive fur coat and a rare 19th-century icon, but the case remained unsolved for decades.
In 2025, investigators decided to re-examine fingerprints found at the scene using AI. The technology restored the papillary patterns and matched them against federal databases. This led to the arrest of 59-year-old Sergey Lapshin from Dubna, a former officer turned criminal with a prior conviction.
Lapshin confessed, claiming he acted on orders from Victoria Kochergina, an acquaintance of the family, who planned the robbery to pay off debts to criminal groups.
