Why the FBI does not open the case of the suspicious death of Mikhail Lesin? – Google Search google.com/search?q=Why+the+…
AI Overview
. After assisting the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI helped determine that Lesin’s death was an accident and the case was officially closed in October 2016.The FBI is not investigating the death of Mikhail Lesin because its involvement ended with the conclusion of the official investigationDetails from the official investigation:Initial findings: Lesin was found dead in a Washington, D.C. hotel room on November 5, 2015, with blunt force injuries to his head, neck, and torso. The initial manner of death was ruled “undetermined”.
Final ruling: In October 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Metropolitan Police Department, with the FBI’s assistance, changed the manner of death to “accident”.
Contributing factor: The revised finding cited acute ethanol (alcohol) intoxication as a contributing factor, stating that Lesin had been drinking excessively and sustained the fatal injuries from falls while alone in his room.
Persistent suspicions and counter-narrativesDespite the official conclusion, speculation and doubts about Lesin’s death have persisted, fueled by several factors:Potential informant: Some intelligence and law enforcement sources suggested Lesin had been scheduled to meet with Justice Department officials to discuss the inner workings of the Russian state-funded network RT and had been living in fear for his life.
Unusual injuries: Critics found it suspicious that a man of Lesin’s age would suffer such extensive blunt force trauma from accidental falls. Medical reports noted a fractured hyoid bone in his neck, an injury sometimes associated with strangulation.
Missing evidence: A gap of several hours existed in hotel surveillance footage from the hallway on the night Lesin died.
History of suspicious deaths: Lesin’s death, along with others among high-profile Russians abroad, has led some to believe he was murdered.
Alternative intelligence report: A memo written by former British spy Christopher Steele, compiled for the FBI, alleged that Russian agents beat Lesin to death. However, this report did not change the official conclusion.
Sanctions and alleged corruption: Senator Roger Wicker had previously called on the FBI to investigate Lesin for potential money laundering related to his properties in California, an action that may have strained Lesin’s standing in Russia.— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 9, 2025
Month: September 2025
Why the FBI does not reopen the case of the suspicious death of Mikhail Lesin? – Google Search google.com/search?q=Why+the+…
Despite the rumors and counter-claims, without new official evidence, the FBI is unlikely to reopen a case that has been officially closed and ruled an accident.
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The FBI has not reopened the case of Mikhail Lesin’s death because the official investigation, which it assisted, concluded his death was an accident. In 2016, following a year-long investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the D.C. Medical Examiner ruled that Lesin died from blunt force injuries sustained during a series of falls in his hotel room while he was severely intoxicated. The investigation is now closed. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Despite the official ruling, the circumstances surrounding Lesin’s death have fueled ongoing suspicion and conspiracy theories. [5, 6]
Official conclusion
The official investigation, which included assistance from the FBI, concluded the following:• Cause of death: Lesin’s death was caused by blunt force injuries to the head, with contributing injuries to his neck, torso, and limbs.
• Manner of death: The D.C. Medical Examiner officially changed the manner of death from “undetermined” to “accident”.
• Contributing factor: Acute ethanol (alcohol) intoxication was a contributing cause of death.
• Final hours: Evidence gathered, including video footage and witness interviews, indicated that Lesin was alone in his hotel room after several days of excessive alcohol consumption when he sustained the injuries that killed him. [1, 7]Reasons for lingering suspicion
The official conclusion is contradicted by persistent claims and unanswered questions, which have contributed to public skepticism:• Allegations of a “hit”: Anonymous intelligence and law enforcement officials told BuzzFeed News that Lesin was likely bludgeoned to death and that the government downplayed the incident to avoid diplomatic repercussions with Russia.
• Neck fracture: In 2019, newly released documents revealed that Lesin had a complete fracture of his neck’s hyoid bone, an injury that a medical examiner noted is often associated with strangulation. However, the official noted it could also have been damaged during the autopsy.
• Conspiracy theories: The theory that Lesin was killed by Russian agents has been floated in the media. This is based on speculation that he was meeting with the U.S. Justice Department to trade information for protection from money laundering allegations.
• Missing video footage: Reports have mentioned a gap in hotel security camera footage during the period when Lesin was last seen alive. [5, 6, 8, 9, 10]Despite the rumors and counter-claims, without new official evidence, the FBI is unlikely to reopen a case that has been officially closed and ruled an accident. [1]
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/inves…] justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/inves…] muckrock.com/news/archives/2…] rferl.org/a/of-suspicious-mi…] theguardian.com/us-news/2019…] npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/…] justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/…] buzzfeednews.com/article/jas…] reddit.com/r/worldnews/comme…] theguardian.com/us-news/2019…
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 9, 2025
Was Charles McGonigal the FBI official who ruled the Mikhail Lesin’s suspicious death the “accident” in October 2016? – Google Search google.com/search?q=Was+Char…
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 9, 2025
Vladimir Gusinsky and the suspicious death of Mikhail Lesin – Google Search google.com/search?q=Vladimir…
While both figures were involved in power dynamics within Russia that ended with Gusinsky’s exile and Lesin’s death, there is no publicly available information or credible report suggesting a connection between Vladimir Gusinsky and the events surrounding Mikhail Lesin’s suspicious death.— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 9, 2025
Suspicious Minds: Medical Experts Cast Doubt On Lesin Autopsy rferl.org/a/of-suspicious-mi…
The autopsy report obtained by RFE/RL following more than two years of litigation over Freedom Of Information Act requests is incomplete; some pages are heavily redacted; signatures are whited out. But the details of laboratory results, observations by pathologists from the chief medical examiner’s office and Georgetown University hospital, and an unidentified forensic anthropologist are included in relatively precise detail.
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“I’ve done 12,000 autopsies over my career,” said Donald Jason, a forensic pathology consultant and retired professor from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina. “A good number have been alcoholics. And I’ve never seen a fractured hyoid bone on someone who’s falling around drunk.”
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“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” said Tom Andrews, who retired in 2017 as chief medical examiner for the state of New Hampshire, and reviewed the file at RFE/RL’s request.“This is an unusual case, the complexity of the injuries, even for an alcoholic,” he said. “It’s an unusual constellation of injuries to see in an accidental death, in a fall or a series of falls, from a standing height.”
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner did not answer an e-mail seeking further comment by the time of publication of this article.
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Documenting the conversation in a supplemental report dated April 1, 2016, and included in the file handed over to RFE/RL, the official notes that the fracture occurred “at or near the time” of death. While other causes could not be ruled out — including a “significant fall” or that the bone was broken during the autopsy — such an injury was “commonly associated with hanging or manual strangulation,” the official wrote.
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Police records, however, state that there was a “problem” with the disk that was storing the video footage from the 9th-floor penthouse where Lesin was staying. An unidentified agent states that he was unable to review footage of the 9th-floor hallway from 1:02 p.m. until 11:14 p.m. due to the problem with the disk — a period that includes nearly three hours after Lesin was last known to have been seen alive.It’s unclear whether that specific footage was ever reviewed.
Asked for further comment on the question of the footage, the Metropolitan Police Department referred questions to the U.S. Justice Department, which oversees both the FBI as well as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. The Justice Department, meanwhile, referred queries from RFE/RL to the Metropolitan Police Department.
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Karl Williams, chief medical examiner of Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, echoed other observations that the absence of further information from the police investigative records makes it harder to get a full picture.“The key to this case lies in what’s not in the medical examiner’s file,” he said. “There’s more missing in the medical examiner’s file than what’s there.”
As for the hyoid, he said, “It would be extraordinarily rare to see this fractured from a fall.”
–— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 9, 2025
Breaking:
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says he will close the French Consulate in Jerusalem.
— Mega-Politics (@_MegaPolitics) Sep 9, 2025
Speaker Johnson walks backs comment that #Trump was an ‘#FBI informant’ in #Epstein case
#justiceforkatiejohnson #JeffreyEpstein #Pedophile #Childmolestor #donaldtrump #TrumpRapist #Trump
— Oden (@Gjallarhornet) Sep 9, 2025
Exclusive: Washington Autopsy Files Reveal Lesin Sustained Broken Bone In Neck rferl.org/a/lesin-autopsy-re…
“I explained that the position of the hyoid is protected by the mandible and that fractures are commonly associated with hanging or manual strangulation. I also said that I could not exclude a significant fall as a cause for the fracture, but I would expect soft-tissue injury to be associated with the impact,” the official, whose name was also redacted, wrote.
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According to a 2015 article published by the National Institute for Health, “fractures of hyoid bone resulting from trauma other than strangulation are very rare; hyoid bone fracture associated with panfacial trauma are even rarer.”— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 8, 2025
#FBI – FBI: you have to reopen the Lesin case and provide the convincing explanation of “the official determination that Lesin died of “blunt force injuries to his head” sustained during repeated falls inside his hotel room.” (Ridiculous!)
How far did the Gusinsky’s money and connections, with the FBI especially, go in the cover up of the true cause of death: Lesin was severely beaten up and his neck was broken?
share.google/aimode/m4is6S48…
Murder of Mikhail Y. Lesin: the hyoid neck bone was broken
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. However, reporting in 2019 confirmed that his hyoid neck bone was completely fractured, fueling long-standing suspicions that he was murdered.
Following his death in a Washington, D.C., hotel in November 2015, former Russian media executive Mikhail Lesin was officially ruled to have died accidentally from falls caused by excessive alcohol consumption
Lesin’s official cause of death
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department concluded their investigation in October 2016, ruling the manner of death an accident.
The official determination was that Lesin died of “blunt force injuries to his head” sustained during repeated falls inside his hotel room.
The final report stated that “acute ethanol intoxication” was a contributing factor.
Later revelations about the hyoid bone
In March 2019, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) obtained medical records through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The 149-page file revealed that Lesin’s hyoid bone was completely fractured.
A fractured hyoid bone is rare and, according to experts, “commonly associated with hanging or manual strangulation”.
Although medical examiners could not rule out that the fracture was caused by a fall or even during the autopsy, multiple forensic experts found the official explanation to be inconsistent with the extent of Lesin’s injuries.
Discrepancies and suspicion
The official findings of an accidental death have been widely questioned for several reasons:
Contradictory injuries: Forensic pathologists interviewed by RFE/RL noted that the official conclusion does not fully account for the serious neck injury or the additional blunt force injuries found on Lesin’s torso, legs, and arms.
Redacted reports: A heavily redacted police report and a gap in hotel surveillance footage fueled further suspicion.
Political motive: As a former adviser to Vladimir Putin and the founder of the state-controlled network RT, Lesin’s sudden death in the U.S. sparked speculation that he may have been murdered. Some theories suggest he was killed before he could cooperate with federal authorities investigating his property holdings.
FBI involvement: The obtained documents also revealed that the FBI had considered taking over the case, adding to the intrigue.
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theguardian.com/us-news/2019…
“RFE said the documents released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show that Lesin’s hyoid bone had been completely fractured. An official, whose name was redacted, is quoted as saying such breaks “are commonly associated with hanging or manual strangulation”, but that it was also possible that the bone was damaged during the autopsy.” (How often does this happen? – M.N.)— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Sep 8, 2025