Guilty Verdict For Man Who Murdered Russian Fiancée 'Execution-Style,' Left Behind KFC Receipt

An Oregon man was convicted on Nov. 22 of killing his Russian fiancée, after a Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food receipt found near the woman’s body linked him to her murder.

A jury deliberated for just under three hours before finding William Hargrove, guilty of murdering Anna Repinka and stealing $800 from her bank account in 2017, the Corvallis Gazette-Times reported. Hargrove was convicted of murder, identity theft and two theft charges on Nov. 22, according to charging documents obtained by Oxgyen.com.

Repinka’s body was found in an isolated wooded area in April 2017. She had suffered a single shotgun blast to the head. At the time, authorities scrambled to identify the 27-year-old woman, who had only recently arrived in America from Russia. The only clues investigators found near her body were in an assortment of trash, including empty beer cans, an old cup of coffee and some scraps of paper. Among the litter was a takeout bag, containing a KFC receipt with the name of an acquaintance of Hargrove, the Washington Post reported. The trash ultimately helped lead to Hargrove’s arrest days later.

“He took the victim out on a rather desolate logging road, and she was found shot in the back of the head, execution-style," Senior Deputy District Attorney Amie Matusko previously told the Associated Press.

Hargrove, 30, intends to appeal the ruling, according to his defense team. 

“Obviously, Mr. Hargrove is disappointed by the verdict,” Michael Flinn, Hargrove’s attorney, told the Corvallis Gazette-Times.  “However, there are issues that need to be addressed by a higher court, and Mr. Hargrove will be appealing.”

Flinn argued that much of the state’s evidence was seized through illegal search warrants. Hargrove’s attorney had also attempted to pin the blame of Repinka’s fatal shooting on Hargrove’s former long term girlfriend, Michele Chavez, who reportedly moved to New York State following the Russian woman’s death. Flinn had repeatedly argued it was Chavez who had killed Repinka in a jealous rage more than two years ago, not his client. 

Flinn didn’t respond to Oxygen.com’s request for comment on Monday.

Chavez previously denied any involvement in Repinka’s killing, the Corvallis Times-Gazette also reported. Prosecutors called Hargrove’s relationship with Repinka and Chavez a “problematic love triangle.” Prior to Repinka’s murder, Hargrove was supposedly living with Chavez in a home she shared with her husband and two children. 

“Ms. Chavez knew about her, though, and tried to convince Mr. Hargrove to choose her over Anna and send Anna away,” Ryan Joslin, chief deputy district attorney for Benton County, said, according to the Corvallis Times-Gazette.
 
Repinka’s mother told the jury at Hargrove's how her daughter, an office worker from Moscow, had quickly moved to the United States from Russia after meeting Hargrove online. 

“I thought she was rushing things,” her mother, Yelena Repinka told the court, the Corvallis Gazette-Times also reported. 

Hargrove’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2020, according to online court records. He faces a minimum of 25 years in prison.