About the author

Managing editor Carl Schreck cut his journalism teeth as a crime reporter for The Moscow Times and now spends an unhealthy amount of time scanning the web for the most disturbing and tragicomic crimes Russia has to offer. You can email him at schreck@imedia.ru.

The proliferation of the emoticon has been one of the more dire consequences of the rise of the Internet and cell phone text messaging over the past two decades — a blight on written communication.
 
There is, after all, only so much sentiment an emoticon can convey. How much happier is a person who types :)))))))) than a person who texts a mere :) to a friend?

Indeed, we may never know the degree of sorrow felt by a young Novosibirsk woman over the traffic cop she struck and killed with her car while driving drunk. But a senior traffic safety official said the "cynicism" of the suspect is exemplified by the text message — complete with emoticon — she sent her boyfriend after killing the officer: 
 

gibddnso.ru The text message sent by a 22-year-old Novosibirsk resident to her boyfriend after having hit and killed a traffic cop. The message reads, "Honey, I killed a cop. I'm sorry :( What should I do?"

"Honey, I killed a cop. I'm sorry :( What should I do?"
 
This depressing tale began on the evening of April 30, when, police say, the 22-year-old woman had a drinking bout with a girlfriend. The young women downed six liters of beer between them before deciding to go for a joyride on the streets of Novosibirsk.
 
At around 11:00 p.m. that evening, local traffic police officer Dmitry Chulkov, 36, had pulled over two cars for moving violations on Ulitsa Ippodromskaya in the Siberian city. He was walking toward one of the cars to issue a fine when he was struck and killed by a Toyota driven by the suspect, whose name has not been released but whose photograph was posted on the regional traffic police's web site.

Witnesses said the suspect drove a bit further before pulling over, though she never exited her car. As it turns out, she was sending the text message to her boyfriend, who advised her to create a "scandal and don't say or sign anything."

Top regional traffic cop Sergei Shtelmakh was incensed at the suspect's behavior, saying that she appeared more concerned about her damaged car than the police officer's death. The text message also angered Shtelmakh.

"More than anything, I'm shocked at her reaction to what happened," Shtelmakh said in a statement. "She spoke with such cynicism about the damage to her car and how her boyfriend — whom she couldn't even call — was going to yell at her."

gibddnso.ru The scene of the car accident that left 36-year-old traffic officer Dmitry Chulkov dead.

Novosibirsk's Central District Court on Monday placed the suspect under arrest, ordering her remanded in custody for two months, regional traffic police said.
 
If convicted of vehicular homicide, she faces up to three years in prison.
 
Below are some more pictures of the suspect from the regional traffic police web site.





 

gibddnso.ru            The homicide suspect being taken into custody by Novosibirsk police.	gibddnso.ru        The suspect taking a breathalyzer test to measure her blood-alcohol level after having hit and killed a local traffic cop.