A man has been charged with murder for allegedly severing a victim’s throat last fall in a SoMa hotel room, the San Francisco district attorney’s office announced Friday.
Sergii Sakhno, 37, allegedly cut the victim’s throat twice, severing major arteries, veins, the trachea, and the spine. Sakhno then tried to clean up the mess with bleach, according to prosecutors.
The killing occurred the afternoon of Oct. 30, in a room in a hotel near the corner of Mission and Seventh streets. San Francisco Police Department officers responded to a call regarding an unresponsive person, a strong odor of bleach, and a ransacked room, according to court documents. The victim, whose name has not been released, was found on the bathroom floor with legs partially in the shower.
Sakhno was arrested for an unrelated burglary Oct. 31; at that time, law enforcement discovered he was in possession of the murder victim’s phone. Sakhno was booked into San Francisco County Jail the next morning, records show.
Sakhno pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Thursday. A San Francisco Superior County Court judge granted the DA’s motion to detain Sakhno pending trial due “to the public safety risk he poses.” He is due back in court April 8.
“I would like to offer my condolences to the victim’s family and my assurance that my office will do everything in our power to fight for justice for them,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement. “There is no place for horrific violence like this in our community.”
Sakhno is being represented by the San Francisco public defender’s office. In a statement, Tal Klement, a deputy public defender, said Sakhno is innocent.
“We will vigorously contest his case in court,” Klement said.