Charges upgraded against Philadelphia man accused of killing wife, hiding body in closet
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Charges were upgraded Wednesday against a man whose wife's body was found wrapped in plastic in their Philadelphia home earlier this month.
A court hearing was held in New Jersey for 65-year-old Vladimir Lushevskiy.
Lushevskiy was taken into custody last week at a motel in Westampton Twp., New Jersey, and was initially charged with abuse of a corpse, as well as possession of a gun for an unlawful purpose.
He now faces charges including homicide, strangulation, and tampering with evidence.
A judge ruled to keep him detained in New Jersey as he awaits extradition to Pennsylvania.
The body of his wife, 61-year-old Lola Karabaeva, was discovered on October 13 in the closet of the couple's home on the 9000 block of Diplomat Place in Philadelphia's Bustleton section after neighbors reported her missing.
Karabaeva's cause of death has yet been released.
Neighbors told police they last spoke with Karabaeva the morning before after returning from a weeks-long trip to Europe.
They say the couple has lived there for nearly 20 years.
In video obtained by Action News, you can see a woman, who neighbors say is Karabaeva, pull up to the home in the early morning hours on October 12. She gets out and for several minutes struggles to get the home's front door open before the video stops.
The next day, neighbors say they saw Vladimir Lushevskiy on video going in and out of the home and moving vehicles belonging to him and his wife.
The victim's car was later found less than a quarter mile away in this parking lot at Maternity BVM Church on old Bustleton Pike.
Sources have told Action News that authorities are investigating the motive, and suspect this incident may be due to the fracture of the couple's marriage after the tragic death of their son, Evgeniy Lushevskiy.
The 19-year-old went missing while hiking in California in 2004.
His picture was included as part of a national missing person's case profiled on the cold case website, The Charley Project.
His body was found and later identified in 2011. Authorities don't believe any foul play was involved in his death.
An investigation is still ongoing in this case. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.
