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CNN Live At Daybreak

Manhunt Under Way for Sacramento Murder Suspect

Aired August 21, 2001 - 07:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now we're going to take a look at one of our top stories. Right now we've got Captain John McGinnis from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department on the telephone with us for the very latest on the search for this 27-year-old man who is suspected of stabbing and beating four people to death.

Good morning, Captain McGinnis.

CAPT. JOHN MCGINNIS, SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

LIN: Do you have any idea where Nikolay Soltys is right now?

MCGINNIS: No. We do know that, we did find his car late last night in an area about 12 miles from the most recent crime scene on Rancho Cordova and unfortunately there's no good evidence in the car to suggest where he may have gone. However, the car was abandoned in an area that's adjacent to an apartment complex that has a large Ukrainian immigrant population so there's speculation that he may have either found shelter there or arranged for somebody to assist him out of the area.

And, of course, our concern continues to be with the welfare of his 3-year-old son, who we believe to still be in his custody. And...

LIN: Captain McGinnis, do you have evidence from that car that indicates that he did have his son, he does have his son still?

MCGINNIS: No, not from the car, but the last person to see him was his own mother at the time he picked his son up from her home. So obviously logic would suggest that the son is still with him and obviously given the nature or the gravity of the kind of violent behavior that we believe he was involved in yesterday, we have serious concerns about the welfare of that child.

Incidentally, we have obtained a warrant for his arrest. So he is now wanted for murder per a court ordered warrant. And we're going to do all we can to find him. Obviously it's, just by the very nature of the crimes that he's alleged to have committed yesterday we consider him very dangerous. But again, compounding that with the fact that he has his 3-year-old son with him and that son could clearly be in harm's way if he's not safely taken into custody.

LIN: I heard that language, the language barrier with this Ukrainian immigrants who may be key eyewitnesses in helping in the investigation has become a problem for your officers. Have you been able to solve that?

MCGINNIS: Yes, we do have some Ukrainian speaking personnel with our department. So that's been an assistance. But I think of even greater concern or challenge to us has been the cultural barrier because it's difficult to pick up information in terms of background on this man and exactly what may have motivated him to take the course of action he took yesterday.

So a lot of information yet to be developed. We know that he was not working at the time this took place. He had recently left, lost employment, through whatever means we don't know. He was, however, to have enrolled in community college yesterday. Obviously he failed to do that. He's, we know that he's been in the U.S. for about four years. Three of those years were in the New York area. He's been in California at various locations throughout the Sacramento area for about a year, most recently, for the last two months where he shared a home with his wife, who was murdered yesterday morning.

So that's about as much profile as we have on him. We know that he has no domestic violence history in the U.S. However, we do have some information regarding domestic violence with a former wife in the Ukraine.

LIN: And yet by all accounts leading up to the attacks yesterday, by all accounts it seems like family members and eyewitnesses were saying that he seemed calm. He seemed pleasant. He, there was nothing to indicate in his state of mind that he would do anything like this.

MCGINNIS: That's absolutely correct. In fact, his behavior at the Rancho Cordova home, where it is alleged now that he's killed four people, when he first arrived he was very rational and engaged in conversation with them and that was after he apparently took the life of his own wife in North Highlands just moments before.

So there's some very strange and bizarre behavior and of course horribly tragic and extremely violent behavior. So we consider him very dangerous and, of course, with his 3-year-old son being in his care at this time, we have very serious concern for his welfare and want very much to get him into our custody.

LIN: All right, thank you very much, Captain John McGinnis with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

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