Nick Kharabadze was 29 when he was murdered as part of a kidnapping-for-ransom scheme carried out by members of a Russian organized crime network. A sound editor who co-owned a film production company, Kharabadze was one of five people abducted, blackmailed, and ultimately killed between late 2001 and early 2002. His body was recovered in New Melones Lake near Sacramento alongside the remains of four other victims.

The case was tied to two Soviet-born American perpetrators, Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel, who operated an aquarium store in Los Angeles and allegedly lured victims with promises of lucrative business deals before kidnapping them, demanding more than $5.5 million in ransom from the families, and strangling the victims. The offenders weighted the bodies and dumped them in the reservoir.

What details about Kharabadze’s life, work, or contacts might help explain how he became involved with these men or identify additional witnesses?