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'Soulmate' Charged With Murder Of Kentucky Businessman More Than Six Months After His Death
The obituary for Kentucky businessman Bryan McCarty described his live-in girlfriend, Victoria Strelsky as his "soulmate." This week, police charged her with McCarty's murder.
The so-called “soulmate” of a Kentucky businessman has been charged with his murder more than six months after he was found dead in his home in September with multiple gunshot wounds.
Police said Victoria Strelsky, 49, was taken into custody earlier this week after an extensive investigation.
Strelsky is also charged with forgery and tampering with physical evidence. She is being held at the Laurel County Correctional Center on a $500,000 bond. Her arraignment is scheduled for Friday.
Laurel County Sheriff’s deputies discovered the body of 62-year-old Bryan McCarty on Sept. 25, after heading to his home for a welfare check.
Family and friends were shocked by his death.
“I don’t understand that, because he was friendly with everyone. Well, except for one person that didn’t like him,” his friend Bill Chasteen told WKYT.
“This guy was real well-known, everybody knew him in the area, and he was known to be a great guy, a very generous guy, and you know it was a shock to the community,” Deputy Gilbert Acciardo told the station.
Strelsky and McCarty were in a romantic relationship. She was described as his “soulmate” in his obituary.
She had several suspicious Google searches on her cell phone, according to an affidavit obtained by local news station Lex18.
Strelsky allegedly searched “how long to die with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest,” “will a .22 penetrate the heart,” “will a .22 penetrate ribcage” and “body temperature after death.”
She was at McCarty’s home when deputies arrived on Sept. 25 and let them in with a key.
Strelsky worked at McCarty’s company, McCarty Rentals, according to the affidavit.
On Sept. 24, she arrived alone at Forcht Bank for a real estate closing. She told bank employees that McCarty wasn’t coming because he “had something more important to do.”
She provided a power of attorney, permitting her to close the deal for McCarty. He would earn about $450,000.
According to the affidavit, after the meeting concluded, she wrote a check on McCarty’s personal bank account for $250 to Mary Ann Anderson. She was not authorized to issue checks.
Deputies interviewed Strelsky one day after McCarty’s murder. She told them that she lived with McCarty and was his girlfriend.
She told police that she was away on the night of the murder because she stayed with her sick daughter. Her daughter lived across the street from McCarty.
Strelsky told authorities that she had last seen McCarty on Sept. 23. Deputies reviewed her cell phone records after the interview.
Police were told by someone that they interviewed on Oct. 5, that McCarty had been planning to breakup with Strelsky.
According to the affidavit, the Kentucky State Police Digital Forensic Lab used Strelsky’s cell phone to track her movements on the day of the murder. Her phone appeared to be at his home twice that day, according to authorities.
Strelsky reported a burglary at McCarty’s home on Oct. 7, but deputies allege it was staged to interfere with the investigation.
On Oct. 23, Strelsky’s attorney told police that she found a shell casing at McCarty’s home. Later, deputies located the shell casing where Strelsky said it would be, but they had searched the same area before, but had not discovered the shell casing.
