Prosecutor's Office asks for life for the accused in the murder on the funicular

The prosecutor's office is asking for life imprisonment for Artem Kosov, accused of killing teenager Maksim Materukhin at the station of the capital's funicular. This was reported to by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

According to him, during the court hearing on September 15, he saw "cynicism, lack of remorse and no regret" in the accused.

The session began with the re-interrogation of two witnesses. This was necessary due to the absence of a sound recording of the court proceedings, so that in the future there would be no grounds for canceling the verdict.

"This is an extremely difficult stage. The words that the accused said to Maxim while the cable car was still moving are echoing in my head: "You're not getting out of here," Kravchenko wrote".

The Prosecutor General added that witnesses confirmed that Kosovo's actions were deliberate. This was also confirmed by the conclusions of a comprehensive forensic, medical, forensic and trace evidence examination.

"Experts have established that Maksym's injuries were caused by the accused's deliberate actions. Kosov's version of an accidental fall is ruled out," he emphasized.

Kravchenko emphasized that the trial was at its final stage – the stage of debate. The prosecution made a speech, analyzed all the evidence and emphasized that it was a premeditated murder with hooligan motives. Prosecutors ask the court to find Kosov guilty and sentence him to life imprisonment.

"I believe that this is the only possible punishment that is as close to justice as possible. But there is no full justice here and there cannot be. Maxim lost the most valuable thing – his life. His parents lost their son," added the Prosecutor General.

The next session will be held on Wednesday, September 17. The debate will continue, after which the court will go into the deliberation room to make a decision.

• On April 7, 2024, the funicular was suspended in the capital, and Kyivpastrans reported a "hooligan incident at the upper station." Later it became known that a minor boy died.
• Law enforcement officers detained a suspect in the murder of a teenager. He was a driver of the State Protection Department. On April 9, the SBI reported that the man was drunk at the time of the crime.
• In May, investigators completed a pre-trial investigation against a parole officer suspected of killing a young man at a funicular station.