Niël Terblanché
ALEXANDER Krylov, a Walvis Bay resident, who began serving a 35-year prison sentence in March of this year, committed suicide at the Windhoek Central Correctional Facility.
Krylov and his co-accused, Anna Engelbrecht, were sentenced to 35 years and 20 years in jail, respectively, in March this year after being convicted of rape and human trafficking.
Krylov was found guilty on 10 charges of rape, ten counts of human trafficking, and one count of giving cigarettes to children under the age of 18, while Engelbrecht was found guilty on three counts of rape and five counts of human trafficking.
Krylov’s body was discovered by a fellow inmate early Friday morning, according to the Namibian Police official report on the suicide.
“The body was discovered hanging from a showerhead in Section 1 of the prison. The deceased used a piece of a blanket cloth to hang himself from the shower head,” the report says.
The deceased did not leave a suicide note, according to Namibian Police, and no foul play is suspected.
During the trial, Krylov, 62, admitted to having sexual relations with at least five under-age girls in 2017, but denied he raped any of them.
Krylov and Engelbrecht were charged with 42 charges of rape and child trafficking, as well as providing cigarettes to minors.
While reading out the sentences for both, the presiding judge discovered that the accused persons’ remorse was merely lip service, and that they only regretted being caught and not the repercussions of their acts.
