Murder In The Desert

Mikhail Drachev is wanted in Arizona for the murder of 21-year-old Konstantin Simberg.

Konstantin was an informant for Phoenix Police Department and worked closely with a detective. On December 14, 2001, that undercover cop received a call on his cell phone from Konstantin, but the detective was already on the line with someone else. He told Konstantin to hold on for a second so he could get off the other line. When the detective clicked back over from call waiting, he heard a scream and what sounded like a physical struggle. Then the line went dead. Two days later, Konstantin's body was found in Fossil Creek, Ariz. -- a rural area more than 100 miles from Phoenix.

Police: Men Lit Victim's Body On Fire

The detective searched his own phone records and learned that Konstantin called him from a cell phone belonging to an Arizona State freshman named Chris Andrews. Detectives searched Andrews' apartment and found evidence linking him to the murder. Police say they also found evidence connecting two Russians, Dennis Tskoukanov and Mikhail Drachev, to the killing. Police say all three men were acquaintances of Konstantin's.

Cops believe the three men attacked Konstantin while he was on the phone with the detective . Here's what officials say happened next: The attackers kept Konstantin tied up over night then drove him to Fossil Creek the following morning where they took Konstantin into the woods and stabbed him in the back with a knife. According to officials, the gang then doused Konstantin with an accelerant and lit him on fire. Thinking he was dead, police say, the men covered Konstantin with rocks to hide his body, left him for dead and took off.

Victim Crawls To His Death

But Konstantin wasn't dead. After his attackers fled, badly burned and bleeding from his wounds, police say Konstantin crawled into a nearby creek. He floated about 100 yards downstream before finally succumbing to the injuries. Chris Andrews was convicted of murder and is currently serving a life sentence. Dennis Tskoukanov was also convicted.

AMW Capture #933

Love Affair Leads To Lock-Up

Cops say a woman in Canada fell in love with a man who told her he had just moved to the country. The two had a steamy affair, so much so that the man proposed to his girlfriend. But, he said, he had been hiding something -- his true identity. He finally told her his real name was Mikhail Drachev.  

Unsure if she could marry someone who had been hiding his true identity, she went on the internet to find out more. Sure enough, on AMW.com she found out Drachev was a fugitive wanted for murder. She also saw the profile was right on -- that he could be living in Canada. That's when she went to police.

After their investigation, members of the Toronto Police Fugitive squad showed up on the 20th floor of a Toronto apartment building on April 20, 2007, to take Drachev down. Police say he was barricaded inside, and it took dozens of men to arrest him. Inside the apartment, cops say they found a 100-foot-long professional grade climbers rope. They assume Drachev wanted to repel down the building to freedom.  Luckily, he never got the chance.