Bio

Vasily Petrovich Losev was born in 1953. By 1999, he was living in Fresno, California, and was separated from his wife, Galena/Galina Loseva, after about 14 years of marriage. The couple had separated about six months before the killings and shared custody of their three sons.

Losev and his wife had three young children, Alexi, Alexander, and Peter. The boys were staying with him at the apartment when the murders occurred. Their mother was expected to pick them up when the fire began, according to family members quoted after the crime.

Later anniversary reporting from the children’s mother described a history of abuse and fear before the murders. She said she had warned the court that Losev was unstable and dangerous, and that she had obtained a restraining order against him. The couple had received a joint-custody order shortly before the killings.

Murder Story

The murders happened in Fresno, California, on January 22, 1999. Vasily Petrovich Losev’s three sons, Alexi, Alexander, and Peter, were inside his apartment. Their mother, Galena/Galina Loseva, was separated from Losev and was expected to pick up the children that evening.

Shortly before she arrived, a fire broke out in the apartment. Firefighters extinguished the blaze around 6:15 p.m. and found the bodies of the three boys inside. Reports stated that the apartment had been consumed by fire, but the children were already dead when they were discovered.

Family members said they believed Losev killed the boys because he knew their mother was coming to get them. One of Galena Loseva’s sisters said the family believed he wanted her to see the fire and the aftermath.

Police later followed a trail of blood away from the apartment area. Bloodstains on a nearby chain-link fence and sidewalk led officers to Losev’s body in a grassy vacant lot. He had died by suicide.