New York detectives were called to Todt Hill, Staten Island on April 2, 2000, after Elena Kiejliches reported her husband, Borys Kiejliches, missing. Elena said she last saw Borys on the evening of March 24, 2000, before she and their children went on a vacation to Disney World. Detective Michael Kenny of the 122nd Precinct stated that Borys often spent several weeks in Russia, so it was not unusual for them to not communicate for a while.

Borys was a successful businessman in the jet-fuel industry who provided his family with a lavish lifestyle. He had saved millions in the United States and had additional funds in bank accounts in Singapore and Moscow. Borys and Elena met in Russia and moved to New York for a better life. Detective Brian Quinn described Borys as a hardworking and caring family man who loved his children.

Initially, investigators considered the possibility that Borys might have had connections to organized crime due to the Russian oil business being associated with it. However, flight and credit card records indicated that Borys had not traveled to Russia and there was no activity on his credit cards. The search for Borys took a grim turn when his abandoned Mercedes was discovered in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

On April 25, 2000, children found a shipping barrel in Jamaica Bay, Queens, which contained Borys’ body. Fingerprints confirmed his identity, and a postmortem examination revealed he had been shot in the back of the head at close range. Detectives suspected a mob-related execution-style murder.

Suspicions of organized crime grew when 33-year-old Russian man Yuri Bershadski was also found dead with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. However, it was later discovered that Bershadski’s murder was unrelated to Borys’ case. In-depth investigations revealed no ties between Borys and the Russian mob. Detectives also noted that the use of a cardboard barrel and the lack of weight to sink the body seemed unprofessional for organized crime.

Investigators returned to Borys’ friends and family and learned that Elena was having an extramarital affair with a man named Messiah Justice. Witnesses reported that Elena openly displayed her relationship with Justice, even buying him expensive gifts. Borys became aware of the affair, which caused tension in their marriage.

Detectives discovered that Justice had purchased the shipping barrel one day after Borys’ disappearance. When confronted, Justice initially denied involvement but later claimed that Elena had told him something terrible had happened and showed him Borys’ body in the basement. Together, they wrapped the body in carpeting, loaded it into the Land Rover, and disposed of it.

The revelations about Elena’s affair and her motive for wanting Borys dead provided investigators with a clear direction in the case.