It turns out the November vandalizing of West Windsor’s September 11 memorial is a case of love gone awry. The suspect used the memorial as a canvas and red spray paint as his brush to profess his love.
A few days before Christmas, the West Windsor police department announced the arrest of Daniil Strukov, 27, of Putnam, Connecticut. Strukov was arrested on December 21 by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office in the state of Georgia, and he was scheduled to be extradited to New Jersey.
Lead investigator Detective Kevin Loretucci of the West Windsor police says he has not yet spoken with the suspect and the case remains ongoing.
According to Loretucci, the Cyrillic lettering spray-painted on the stones near the twin ponds, the steel beam, and all over the gazebo were love notes. The main clue was “Bozhena,” which was spelled out several times and believed to be a name.
A tipster “saw the name Bozhena through the media, knew she was staying in West Windsor, and made contact with the department,” Loretucci says. He did not give the individual’s full name, but she was a temporary West Windsor resident staying with friends.
“She indeed confirmed that the messages were most likely directed at her, the guy was saying he was sorry. She knew from that relationship who that person was and through that we determined it was Mr. Strukov,” Loretucci says.
A heart with a cupid’s arrow shot through was spray painted on the floor of the gazebo, which is adjacent to but not a part of the 9/11 memorial. The stones near the twin ponds are part of the original memorial, and one of the stones also had a heart spray painted after two rows of letters.
Strukov faces charges of criminal mischief and desecration of a venerated object, and will be processed upon arriving in New Jersey.
