(BLACK ROCK CITY, Nev.) — It’s been two months since a Burning Man attendee was found dead in a pool of blood at the annual event in Black Rock City, Nevada, and as officials continue to search for a suspect, law enforcement experts told ABC News the crime will “not be a quick solve.”
Vadim Kruglov, a 37-year-old from Russia who was described by his family as “talented, bright and inspiring,” was found dead at the event on Aug. 30 at approximately 9:14 p.m., the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said in September.
As other attendees were celebrating the burning of the large wooden “man” that marks the end of the event, officials said a deputy was alerted by another participant that there was a man “lying in a pool of blood,” with officials “immediately” responding to the campsite.
An attendee at the event, who asked not to be named, told ABC News she was traveling back to her campsite that evening when she was rerouted by a large police presence nearby.
It wasn’t until after she left Burning Man on Sunday that she found out a homicide had occurred at the event.
“I felt so unprotected,” the participant, who said she was not interviewed by police at the scene, told ABC News.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests from ABC News for comment on the status of the case.
“Burning Man Project is committed to the safety of our community and to supporting those working to bring justice in this tragic case,” event officials said in a press release in September.
While many unknowns remain surrounding Kruglov’s death, and the search for a suspect continues, ABC News contributor and former FBI special agent Richard Frankel said there are “several investigative steps” officials can take before ruling the homicide a “closed” or “cold” case.
Murder weapon could indicate suspect had relationship with victim: Former FBI agent
Three weeks after Kruglov’s murder, officials announced they found the knife allegedly used in the killing, a discovery Frankel said could shed light on the potential suspect’s motive or possibly provide DNA evidence.
When officials announced the discovery of the weapon, they said Kruglov’s death appeared to have been caused by a single stab wound, which ABC News contributor and retired FBI agent Brad Garrett said is a “personal” manner of killing and could indicate the suspect had a relationship with the victim.
“Using a knife on someone is highly personal. It’s one thing to be 10 feet away and shoot somebody. It’s another to literally have to be against them to kill them,” Garrett said.
However, Frankel said a possible motive will not be able to be determined until the medical examiner conducts a further investigation into the knife-entry wound, specifically the “way the entry went in, the way the knife was facing and the pressure put forward or backward as the knife was stabbed.”
Officials have not yet shared the medical examiner’s report with the public, nor have they stated when the report would be released.
Frankel also said it is possible the suspect and the victim had some kind of prior relationship, but also recognized the killing could have simply occurred “in the heat of the moment.”
“Being that it’s at Burning Man — a lot of alcohol and drugs — you just don’t know who the players are at that time and at that location, and it could be just somebody who lost it and stabbed the first person that you could see,” Frankel said.
There were 44 arrests at this year’s event, officials said, ranging from possession of a controlled substance and assault with a deadly weapon to domestic battery, sexual assault and burglary.
Investigators must take the suspect’s ‘life apart’
Another potential avenue to reveal more details about the suspect is to take a deeper look at Kruglov’s past, Garrett said.
“You really take his life apart,” Garrett said, encouraging investigators to learn about Kruglov’s connections — “if there was someone he complained about, someone he owed money to or someone he had gotten into a dispute with.”
Kruglov, originally from Russia, was described as “true hero of Burning Man” who “poured his soul” into the community, according to a GoFundMe created by loved ones that was shared on the event’s press release.
“Vadim poured his soul into our community: building camp, creating art, helping others and always sharing his kindness and energy,” his loved ones wrote on the GoFundMe. “His contributions will forever remain part of the Burn’s history.”
Kruglov was attending Burning Man for the first time, according to a statement from the event.
Garrett said the suspect has the potential to be have “some connection” to Kruglov’s life, even prior to his trip to Burning Man. But, those possibilities could only be confirmed by analyzing his past, looking through his social media and speaking to friends and family, he said.
‘At the mercy’ of the public
Due to the challenges involved in this investigation — including that there was “little to no cellphone coverage,” the crime scene was a temporary city in a remote area and there is no known surveillance footage of the crime — Garrett said officials are “at the mercy of other people giving you information.”
“You never want to be in a position where you’re at the mercy of other people giving you information, but unfortunately, this case may just lend itself to completing a thorough investigation — not getting anywhere as to who the suspect might be — and then you have to regularly get the case back in front of the public to potentially generate more leads,” Garrett said.
“Somebody’s going to have to keep this case alive to potentially solve it,” Garrett added.
But, despite the time that passes without a suspect in custody growing by the day, Garrett said that does not make the case less solvable.
“One phone call, one piece of evidence that directs them toward someone with some corroboration that they could well have been involved in this could lead to an arrest,” Garrett said.
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