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New Nemtsov Murder Witness Emerges to Contest Investigation ?€“ Report

A portrait of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov and flowers are pictured at the site where he was killed on Feb. 27, with St. Basil's Cathedral seen in the background, at the Great Moskvoretsky Bridge in central Moscow. Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

A witness in the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov says the main suspect does not resemble the man he saw leaving the scene, Kommersant newspaper reported Friday, citing unnamed sources close to the investigation.

The newspaper said a 27-year-old manager identified as Yevgeny was walking across the bridge in central Moscow on Feb. 27 behind Nemtsov and his companion when the politician was shot dead.

Yevgeny did not see the shooting, but saw a slender man of medium-height with dark, medium-length hair getting into the backseat of a white car resembling a Lada Priora, Kommersant reported. This description does not match the muscular appearance of Zaur Dadayev, the main suspect in the case, or the ZAZ Sens vehicle cited by the investigation.

Yevgeny also told investigators that Nemtsov was still alive when he approached him, "wheezing or moaning," the paper reported.

Dadayev has been charged with the murder, along with another man, and is currently in pre-trial detention. He was originally reported to have confessed to involvement in the murder but later retracted his confession.



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