NH AG Releases Bedford Murder-Suicide Report

BEDFORD, NH - A local woman of Russian descent was motivated to take her own life and the lives of her two daughters in March 2015 due to mental health issues and marital status, according to a six-page report released by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office on Feb. 10, 2016.

Read the full report of PDF format on the NH AG’s Website

Back on March 28, 2015, Bedford Police and New Hampshire State Police were called to 17 McAfee Farm Road at just after 11 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from Alexi Obukhov that his wife, Nina Obukhov, 34, had shot and killed herself and their two daughters, Katherine Obukhov, 8, and Elizabeth Obukhov, 6.

Alexi Obukhov, according to the investigation, had moved out and was living in Merrimack, but was at the home that morning to oversee repairs to a septic system. He reportedly found the bodies when he went into the house after seeing his wife’s car in the garage.

“He was agitated, but fully cooperative,” according to investigators.

A search of the home by police led to the discovery of the bodies as well as a note, in Russian, in Nina Obukhov’s handwriting, stating: “How did you not expect a different outcome? It was amusing to me to watch all your rat race!”

The note was dated March 28 with a time of “2:00” but no indication of morning or night. The handwriting, according to investigators, “was consistent with a sample of Nina’s handwriting found on file with the children’s school, the Riddle Brook School in Bedford.”

The medical examiner’s officer estimated that Nina Obukhov and the girls perished sometime Friday evening or early Saturday morning.

A trace of the serial number of the SCCY 9 mm handgun which she used in the incident was traced a Derry gun shop, according to the report, and was purchase about five weeks before the incident.

Investigators interviewed close to 50 witnesses including people at the children’s school, family members, and colleagues of both Alexi Obukhov and Nina Obukhov, including the men hired to clean the septic tank and Alexi Obukhov’s business associates at a gun shop he owns in Merrimack.

The investigation revealed that the couple was “struggling in their marriage” and that Alexi Obukhov had moved out 10 days before. Her sister stated that she was depressed and unhappy.

On the morning of the discovery, Alexi Obukhov gave consent to investigators allowing them to collect whatever they needed from his person, including clothing, personal items, fingerprints, a DNA sample, as well as allowing them to test for gunshot residue, according to the report. He also asked to speak with an attorney. He was later contacted through counsel and declined to be further interviewed by police, according to the report.

Investigators also traced Alexi Obukhov’s cellphone records and stated the phone was active in the morning and afternoon on March 27, 2015, in Merrimack, and again between 10:04 a.m. and 10:42 a.m. on March 28, 2015, also in Merrimack. The gap in call logs was due to the phone either being shut off or switching to a wireless connection, according to investigators. The phone logged on again at 11 a.m. at the home when Alexi Obukhov met with the septic tank workers.

Nina Obukhov’s family and friends noted that the relationship was “tumultuous” and raised “concerns of possible domestic violence,” according to the investigation. Witnesses stated that Nina Obukhov alleged she was assaulted in or around August and September 2013 and had a black eye, according to one witness. Bedford Police were also sent to the home on a domestic call in November 2013 but no charges were filed.

The report concluded that all the evidence and behavior pointed to Nina Obukhov taking her own life and killing her children.

“There is no indication that Nina’s husband or a stranger entered the home and killed Nina or her children,” the report stated. “To the contrary, the overwhelming weight of the evidence points to a murder-suicide perpetrated by Nina.”

Caption: New Hampshire State Police investigators are at the scene of a suspicious death investigation in Bedford on March 29, 2015. Credit: Jeffrey Hastings/Frame of Mind Photography. frameofmindphoto.com.