Moscow: A district judge and three of his family members were beheaded in a medieval-styled bloodbath in Ukraine's Kharkov region.
Four beheaded bodies were discovered in the judge's apartment by a relative Saturday, which was also the "Judicial Employee Day" in the country, police said.
The judge was identified as 58-year-old Vladimir Trofimov.
The other victims were his 59-year-old wife, 30-year-old son and the son's 29-year-old girlfriend, whose names were withheld.
Police said the mass murder could have been connected to the judge's professional activity, but reported no leads.
The most famous beheading in Ukraine's recent history took place in 2000. Whistleblowing journalist Georgy Gongadze, who criticised then-president Leonid Kuchma for corruption, was killed.
Three police officers were convicted over Gongadze's death, but a recent controversial ruling cleared Kuchma in the case.
IANS
First Published: Sunday, December 16, 2012, 16:48