Nikolay Alekseyevich Soltys

Nikolay Alekseyevich Soltys was born on May 19, 1974, in Shumsk, a small religious town in western Ukraine. Shumsk, home to just 5,000 residents, was known for its tight-knit Pentecostal community, to which Soltys and his parents belonged. He worked as a shoemaker and was known locally for erratic and violent behavior.

Soltys' early life was marked by instability and aggression. Reports from his Ukrainian hometown describe multiple incidents of violence, including attacks on family members. His wife's relatives revealed that Soltys once tried to attack her with an axe during an argument. Despite their objections, Soltys and Lyubov married. Relatives recalled ongoing abuse in the relationship, including threats of suicide, beatings during pregnancy, and an incident where Lyubov was pushed from a slow-moving vehicle.

By 1998, following one particularly violent altercation, Soltys left Ukraine and moved to New York to join his parents, who had been granted refugee status under the U.S. Lautenberg Amendment due to their Evangelical Christian faith. The same legal pathway allowed Soltys to immigrate, despite concerns raised about his behavior in Ukraine. Once in the U.S., he reportedly lived off welfare, struggled with chronic back pain after a car accident, and was unable to maintain steady employment.

He relocated to California with his mother after the death of his father and settled in the Sacramento area, hoping for better economic and weather conditions. By 2001, Soltys had reunited with his wife Lyubov, who joined him in Sacramento with their young son. However, their relationship continued to be turbulent in the months leading up to the murders.

On August 20, 2001, a series of brutal stabbings took place across three locations in and around Sacramento, California. The perpetrator, 27-year-old Nikolay Soltys, launched a deadly rampage that began at his home and ultimately left six members of his family dead, including his pregnant wife and 3-year-old son.

The first killing occurred around 9 a.m. in North Highlands, where Soltys lived with his wife, Lyubov. As she prepared to leave for her first day at a new job, Soltys stabbed her multiple times. Witnesses reported seeing Lyubov, wounded and covered in blood, flee to a neighbor's house, pleading for help before collapsing outside. She died shortly after from her injuries. She was three months pregnant at the time of her death.

Soltys fled the scene in his silver 1995 Nissan Altima and drove to Rancho Cordova, where his elderly aunt and uncle, Peter and Galina Kukharskiy, lived. Authorities believe that after a short visit, Soltys attacked the couple upstairs in their duplex, fatally stabbing both. He then went after their grandchildren. Ten-year-old Dmitriy Kukharskiy was killed outside the home. Nine-year-old Tatyana Kukharskaya, who tried to protect her cousin, was also fatally stabbed and later died from her wounds at a nearby hospital. Two other children present at the scene managed to escape.

Following these murders, Soltys drove to Citrus Heights, where his mother was babysitting his 3-year-old son, Sergey. Soltys reportedly appeared agitated but calm. He washed his hands in the kitchen, collected his son, and left without explanation.

The following day, Soltys’ vehicle was found abandoned. Inside, investigators discovered a photograph of Sergey and his mother. A handwritten note on the back, written in Ukrainian, provided directions to the child’s body. Acting on this information, law enforcement conducted a large-scale search near Watt Avenue in Placer County. The body of Sergey Soltys was discovered later that afternoon in a cardboard box beneath a communications tower, hidden among a pile of garbage. Authorities confirmed that the boy had died from multiple stab wounds and had suffered severe trauma to the mouth and throat.

The gruesome nature of the killings shocked the Sacramento community. Soltys was identified as the suspect within hours of the first murder. A nationwide manhunt was launched, and on August 23, 2001, he was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

After more than a week on the run, Soltys was located on August 30, 2001, hiding in a relative's backyard in Citrus Heights. He was arrested without incident and taken into custody at Sacramento County Jail.

On February 13, 2002, while awaiting trial, Nikolay Soltys died by suicide in his jail cell. Authorities reported that he had hanged himself with a makeshift rope.