MOSCOW, June 14 (RAPSI) – Investigation into Philipp Budeykin, aka Philipp Fox, an administrator of a closed group on social network Vkontakte charged with inciting teenagers to commit suicide, has been completed, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced on its website on Wednesday.

According to investigators, Budeykin abetted teens to commit suicide via the social network between April and May 2016.

In particular, he has induced a 15-year old girl living in the city of Astrakhan to suicide. However, on May 17, 2016, law enforcement officers persuaded her to give up the idea to kill herself. Moreover, the defendant forced a girl, born in 2000, to commit suicide in the Tyumen Region on June 2016. Doctors could save her life.

In May 2017, Budeykin pleaded guilty. Earlier, a psychiatric examination has found him mentally fit.

A criminal case was opened in May 2016 after several Russian media outlets reported about so-called Groups of Death, numerous groups where young people were encouraged to kill themselves.

Investigators claim that from December 2013 to May 2016 eight Groups of Death were registered on Vkontakte network. Fifteen teenagers from various regions of Russia were members of these groups and committed suicide. Searches were conducted in ten regions of Russia.

Budeykin was arrested on November 15, 2016. About ten people testified against him.

The investigation is currently ongoing in Russia’s Krasnodar Territory, Republics of Komi and Bashkortostan and Moscow, Volgograd, Voronezh, Tula, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk and Omsk regions. Investigators also claim that admins of Groups of Death have been found in Ukraine.