The final shift at the gas station led to seven years of court proceedings: the killer of three colleagues received a life sentence

Inhulskyi District Court of Mykolaiv sentenced a man to life imprisonment for shooting three of his colleagues at the Faktor gas station on Novozavodska Street on September 18, 2019. The defendant, identified during the investigation as Mykola Zakharov, was found guilty of the intentional murder of three people and illegal handling of firearms. The trial lasted nearly 7 years.

The verdict was handed down on September 11, 2026, as reported by Inhulskyi District Court. When the announcement was published on September 18, the decision had not yet entered into force and could be appealed.

She came to her husband’s workplace and found three bodies

The tragedy occurred on the morning of September 18, 2019, at the Faktor gas station on Novozavodska Street in Mykolaiv. The victims were gas station employees aged 33, 51, and 59.

As Korabelov.info reported that same day, the horrific discovery was made by the wife of one of the victims. The woman had called her husband several times, but he did not answer. Concerned, she decided to go to his workplace herself.

When she arrived at the gas station, no one was in the cashier’s booth. She went into the staff room and saw three bodies with gunshot wounds. Her husband was among the dead. The discovery was reported to the police emergency line, 102.

Later, during a court hearing, the wife of one of the victims shared a detail about that morning. She had noticed that her husband had left a bun at home—the snack he usually took to work. That was why she began calling him. When he did not answer, she went to the gas station, where she found the victims.

Police launched a special operation; robbery was initially considered

A local police investigative task force, officers from the regional department, forensic specialists, experts, a dog handler with a service dog, and patrol officers arrived at the scene of the triple murder.

Law enforcement officers searched the gas station, questioned members of the public, and collected and seized physical evidence. A special police operation, “Siren,” was launched in the city.

At the start of the investigation, several possible motives were considered. Robbery was one of the first theories, as the gas station served a large number of vehicles and had significant daily cash turnover.

However, investigators later established that no money had been taken from the gas station. The main theory became personal animosity between the employees.

He fled in a taxi but was arrested at home within hours

On the evening of September 18, 2019, Korabelov.info reported the arrest of a suspect in the triple murder. He turned out to be a former employee of the same gas station, aged 48 at the time.

According to law enforcement, the man had worked at the gas station for about 12 years. He had previously come to the attention of the police for crimes involving the illegal circulation of weapons.

Investigators established that after shooting his colleagues, the man left the gas station in a taxi and went home. Officers from the regional police headquarters’ criminal investigation and strategic investigations departments identified him and located him within hours.

The suspect was formally detained at his home that same day.

During the arrest, law enforcement officers found a large quantity of weapons and ammunition:

• 2 revolvers;
• 2 pistols;
• 5 loaded pistol magazines;
• more than 100 rounds of ammunition, some of them live;
• a knife.

The weapons and ammunition were on the man and in a bag he was carrying. Everything seized was sent for forensic examination.

Four shots, knife wounds, and animosity toward colleagues

During the investigation, law enforcement officers established that the man had prepared for the crime in advance. He had illegally acquired and carried a firearm, including a modified self-loading pistol.

According to the court records, the murder took place on the defendant’s last working day. The attack was motivated by animosity toward his colleagues.

After entering the gas station’s administrative building, the man opened fire on the employees. As reported during the hearing on the pre-trial measure, a total of 4 shots were fired. One victim was shot in the chest, and two others were shot in the head.

In addition, according to the court’s announcement of the verdict, the attacker inflicted several stab wounds on one of the victims.

After the attack, he made sure the victims showed no signs of life and left the scene.

What the victims’ relatives and witnesses said

On September 20, 2019, Korabelov.info reported in detail on the court hearing at which the court considered a pre-trial measure for suspect Mykola Zakharov.

The victims’ relatives said at the time that they had not known of any serious conflicts among the employees. The wife of one of the murdered men described the suspect as someone who did not seem threatening. According to her, her husband had never previously complained about any conflict with him.

The wives of the other victims also said that their husbands had been on good terms with Zakharov. The hearing also revealed a family connection: the suspect’s ex-wife was related to one of the victims.

Witness Pavlo Zayzburh, who worked at the gas station, said that three employees had started their shift on the morning of September 18. He was later called because the station’s operations booth was not working and his colleagues were not answering their phones. When he arrived, the area had already been cordoned off by police.

Another witness said that at around 09:30 he had come to refuel his car. A man in the operator’s booth told him that the gas station was closed because there was no electricity. At around 09:50, a man came out of the building. The witness did not notice anything suspicious: he heard no shouting and saw no blood on the man’s clothes.

A taxi driver, also questioned as a witness, confirmed that he had received a call from the gas station that morning and driven a passenger to the suspect’s home address. He had driven the man several times before.

Nearly seven years in court—and a life sentence

The day after the murders, on September 19, 2019, the detainee was notified that he was suspected of violating Article 115, Part 2, Clause 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—the intentional murder of two or more people.

On September 20, the court ordered him held in custody for 60 days, with no possibility of bail.

The subsequent trial lasted nearly 7 years. During that time, the prosecution presented evidence of the intentional murder of three people and illegal handling of firearms.

During the proceedings, the defendant admitted his guilt. However, the court reported that he withdrew his admission of guilt when the verdict was announced.

The court examined the criminal case materials, witness testimony, physical evidence, and expert findings, and concluded that the charges had been proven.

The man was found guilty under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• Article 115, Part 2, Clause 1 — intentional murder of two or more people;
• Article 263, Part 1 — illegal handling of firearms, ammunition, or explosives.

For the combined criminal offenses, the court imposed the most severe penalty: life imprisonment.

Procedural supervision of the case was carried out by the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

Source: Mykolaiv Regional Police.

We have previously reported:

• Jealous man shoots woman 8 times at a hotel in Mykolaiv Region and flees to occupied territory
• Said he feared mobilization: man sentenced to life in Odesa Region for killing a police officer
• Shot instructors at a training ground: service member sentenced to life
• Alcohol, jealousy, and an assault rifle: service member suspected of double murder
• In Mykolaiv Region, soldier shoots two fellow service members with an AK-74