Lost in the midst of a newfound love, successful businessman Charles Butler suddenly disappeared. The subsequent search led the police to a brutal murder scene, with a jealous perpetrator lurking behind.
Mysterious Messages
Returning to New York City in 2012 marked a joyful and emotional homecoming for 56-year-old Charles Butler. A diligent entrepreneur, he had built a successful business in the Sunshine State. He was also a father of three and had gone through a divorce.
Charles had relocated to Florida and started his career in his early twenties. Over the decades, he frequently visited Manhattan, New York City, to spend time with his daughter Molly, who lived there. He shared an apartment with her, who was a hairstylist.
During one such visit in 2012, he met Anna Lioznov, a woman living in Brooklyn. From the outset, the pair hit it off well and quickly began dating. Their relationship grew increasingly serious, even discussed plans to move in together and marry in the near future.
On Tuesday, September 18, 2012, Charles went out with his girlfriend to the beach and stayed overnight at her place. That evening, Molly texted her father to ask for help booking a flight because she was having credit card issues. However, the next morning, Molly discovered that her father hadn’t made the booking.
She immediately texted him about it and received a reply with an apology. Instantly, Molly noticed something amiss. Firstly, Charles referred to her as “my dear.” Although he had many nicknames for her, he had never used this term. Moreover, the spelling errors and peculiar words used in the message also puzzled her.
Abrupt Goodbye
Molly’s concern escalated upon learning that her father hadn’t shown up at his workplace. By Friday, she contacted her father’s girlfriend.
Anna informed Molly that when she left for work at 7:40 a.m. on September 19, Charles was still asleep at his apartment. However, while at work, she suddenly received a short and bizarre message from her boyfriend’s phone stating that he wanted to break up. “Forget about me. I’ll return to Florida,” the message read.
This was not normal behavior, as Molly knew her father deeply loved his girlfriend. Suspecting something foul, Molly promptly reported to the police. However, as there were no signs of foul play concerning the 56-year-old businessman, the police initially treated it as a missing person case.
Five days after her father’s disappearance, Charles’s children hired a private detective. The detective found no evidence suggesting that Charles had booked a flight to Florida.
During an interview with Anna, the private detective learned that this woman had an ex-husband named Mikhail Chernyaev, with whom she had a child. Mikhail’s car was parked in the building’s yard where she lived.
The private detective contacted the local police, providing them with the information. The authorities then visited Anna’s building and examined footage from the surrounding security cameras.
Meanwhile, Molly received a phone call from one of her father’s friends in Florida.
Suspicious Appearance
After businessman Charles Butler disappeared, investigators went to the building of his girlfriend, Anna Lioznov, and checked the footage from the security cameras installed around.
At this time, one of Charles’s friends in Florida called his daughter. He mentioned that a month before Charles went missing, he had received a call from Mikhail Chernyaev – Anna’s ex-husband, saying, “She’s my woman. Stay away from her.” This threatening call raised suspicions about Charles’s girlfriend’s past relationship.
On October 4, 2012, 16 days after the 56-year-old businessman went missing, the police obtained crucial CCTV footage. It showed Charles and Anna entering the building on the evening of September 18. Around 7:40 a.m. the next morning, Anna left for work.
The surprising revelation came when a video clip captured Mikhail’s car entering the apartment complex parking lot only about 4 minutes after Anna left. Charles was never seen leaving the place, nor was he ever seen alive after that moment. Later that day, Charles’s phone sent a strange message to his daughter. Anna also received a short and surprising farewell message.
The investigators suspected Mikhail might have assaulted or even killed Charles. At the moment Mikhail drove his pickup truck out of the apartment complex, Charles’s body was allegedly in the vehicle.
The investigation immediately sought search warrants for the vehicles in the apartment complex parking lot. However, the investigation hit a snag when Superstorm Sandy struck New York City in late October 2012. The storm submerged 250,000 cars, including Mikhail’s. This meant any evidence in the vehicle was washed away. The case stalled as the city struggled to recover from the devastating storm.
Five months later, Charles’s children continued to push for a reopening of the investigation. During questioning, Anna denied any notion that Mikhail could be involved in her boyfriend’s disappearance. She asserted her ex-husband had no part in this.
It was revealed that after Charles was presumed to have sent the breakup text and vanished without a trace, Mikhail was there to console Anna. Eventually, they reconciled. Hence, Charles’s children suspected Anna might be covering up for her ex-husband.
Eight months after Charles’s disappearance, Anna agreed to undergo a lie detector test. The results showed that she genuinely believed her ex had nothing to do with her boyfriend’s disappearance.
Body Found in the River
While the investigation into the disappearance of Charles Butler while at his girlfriend Anna Lioznov’s home remained stagnant, on October 15, 2012, seven months since Charles was last seen, a fisherman unexpectedly discovered a decomposing body in a remote area on the outskirts of New York.
Based on the skeletal remains, a single usable fingerprint, and DNA analysis, authorities finally confirmed with certainty that the body was Charles’s. The victim had been stabbed multiple times and asphyxiated before being thrown into the river.
Mikhail Chernyaev – Anna Lioznov’s ex-husband, was immediately brought in for questioning. Initially, the suspect remained calm, denying any involvement in his ex-wife’s lover’s death and providing investigators with an alibi, which later turned out to be false.
Eventually, when detectives presented a map of the area where Charles’s body was found, Mikhail’s demeanor changed entirely, and he began to confess.
Mikhail admitted to still loving his ex-wife and feeling jealous of any man showing affection for her. According to Mikhail, he intended to visit his ex-wife’s home only to confront Charles about this relationship. Mikhail told investigators that he waited until Anna left for work before entering her apartment. A confrontation ensued between the two men, turning violent.
Initial Mikhail claimed Charles’s death was an unfortunate accident from a fall. He later changed his statement, confessing to killing his romantic rival but claiming he did so in self-defense. Ultimately, Mikhail admitted to grabbing a knife from the kitchen and stabbing Charles, then strangling him to death. Mikhail explained his actions as being “possessed.”
To prevent his ex-wife from discovering his crime, Mikhail took Charles’s body to a remote location in the suburbs, where he had previously vacationed, and disposed of it in the river.
Furthermore, Mikhail switched the SIM card from the victim’s mobile phone to his own and used Charles’s identity to send messages to cover up his tracks.
Mikhail was arrested for the murder of Charles Butler. Investigators confirmed that blood found on the kitchen floor of Anna’s house belonged to Charles.
During the trial, the prosecutor alleged that Charles was killed in his girlfriend’s apartment after Mikhail entered and found him sleeping on his ex-wife’s bed. Enraged by jealousy, he stabbed Charles in the back and strangled him to death. He then drove over 140 kilometers to dispose of Charles’s body.
On September 29, 2016, Mikhail was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years. As of 2023, at the age of 56, Mikhail remains incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. He will be eligible for parole in 2038.
