School to reveal 'full story' of pupil shot dead on Brazil trip

 
Lindsay Watling8 October 2013

The headmaster of an exclusive London private school at the centre of a murder investigation after a pupil was “executed” in Brazil said today the “full story” was yet to come out.

Sergey Petrovich Danshin, 17, was shot three times in the back of the head after leaving the beachside villa in Rio de Janeiro he was sharing with staff and other students from the £22,000-a-year International Community School in Regents Park.

The body of the teenager, who had allegedly gone in search of drugs, was discovered on a canal bank the next day, less than 48 hours after the trip arrived in the country.

Today head teacher Philip Hurd, 52, told the Standard: “There has been lots of speculation, but the school will give the full story. The full story will come out.”

Mr Hurd was speaking from his home in Clapton, east London having just got back.

Police, who have described the crime as an “execution”, believe Sergey, the son of a wealthy Russian businessman, was trying to buy cannabis.

Local police chief Julio Cesar Mulatinho Neto told the Mail on Sunday that the group had walked to a bar for pizza at about 6pm on September 27.

He said the three adults left at about 11.30pm, leaving the four students alone in the venue.

“At about 1am, all four students returned and went to bed, but soon after two decided to leave the house in an attempt to buy cannabis,” he said.

“They returned to the bar but were not successful and returned to the house. Later, Sergey left the villa alone.

“He had only been in Brazil for two days – he can hardly have made many enemies in that time. We do not understand the motive for this crime.”

Mr Neto also revealed that Sergey’s backpack containing an iPhone 5 and credit card had been left untouched.

Renan Magalhaes Garcia Gutierrez, who owns the bar the group visited, claimed the under age pupils downed vodka shots and smoked cigarettes.

He added: “When Sergey came back to the bar alone, he was asking where he could find cannabis and also made a sniffing gesture that I understood to mean cocaine. I told him ‘be careful – it’s dangerous here.’

“He laughed and said ‘don’t be silly, Brazil has no law’. He then walked off and I did not see him again.”

It is understood Sergey’s father, Petr Danshin, an agribusiness magnate in the Black Sea city of Krasnodar, has flown out to Brazil to find out what happened.

A school spokesman said: “We’re appalled by this tragedy and have done everything we can to help the Brazilian authorities with their investigations. We have offered our heartfelt condolences to the family.”

Friends took to social networking sites to pay tribute to Sergey. Twitter user Artemis wrote: “The best people leave us too early and I now understand how true this is. RIP Sergey Danshin. You are one of the most wonderful people.”

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