Two Mundelein-area men accused of killing and dismembering another man will remain in Lake County jail while their cases are pending, a Lake County judge ordered Friday.
Authorities believe 51-year-old Ruslan Furman was beaten to death last fall. His remains have not been recovered.
The victim has “not been seen or heard from since Sept. 25, 2025,” said Lake County assistant state’s attorney Jeffrey Facklam Friday afternoon during a detention hearing for Damen Voranoff, 56, whom authorities say was Furman’s roommate. The detention hearing for co-defendant Dmitry Bogatiryov, 52, took place separately. Both men are charged with first-degree murder in Furman’s death.
Citing the “brutality of the offense and the efforts taken to conceal the crime as well as the body,” Lake County Judge Michael G. Nerheim granted prosecutors’ petition to detain the defendants.
Furman was reported missing early last November, said Lake County sheriff’s Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
The missing person’s report raised detectives’ suspicions and prompted an investigation that spanned eight months, Covelli said.
“A lot of old-fashioned, shoe-leather detective work went into this case,” he said.
Facklam told the court the investigation produced 312 separate police reports. He also said a witness reported Voranoff and Bogatiryov “were observed and admitted to striking the victim.”
According to Facklam, Bogatiryov “later admitted the victim was dead inside of his residence.”
During a search of the home, detectives determined it had been recently remodeled, Facklam said.
“Police found the victim’s blood underneath the flooring of the house,” he said. “There was also blood found on other objects in the house, including a saw and a knife.”
Sheriff’s detectives recovered a reciprocating saw from Bogatiryov’s home that appeared to contain blood, said Covelli.
Laboratory tests confirmed the blood was Furman’s. Detectives believe Bogatiryov and Voranoff beat Furman to death, then dismembered his body and disposed of his remains, Covelli said.
Facklam told the court that Voranoff was present at a home improvement store when “numerous items related to cleaning up a crime scene and disposing of a body were purchased.”
Nerheim noted the store receipts indicated the purchase of acid, coveralls, goggles, gloves, plastic sheeting, saw blades, bleach and garbage bags. Subsequent purchases included ammonia and odor-absorbing materials.
Voranoff’s attorney, Lake County Assistant Public Defender Gregg Walpoff, said his client denies the allegations. Walpoff requested that he be released with conditions.
“It appears this victim may not be dead,” Walpoff said, suggesting that Furman was “not deceased but fled the jurisdiction.”
Bogatiryov and Voranoff are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 18.
