NEW YORK — Detectives with the New York City Police Department have arrested a Brooklyn man in connection with the killing of central Florida businessman Charles Butler.
Mikhail Chernyaev, 46, of Brooklyn, is being charged with second degree murder, according to a source close to the investigation.
9 Investigates' Christopher Heath first reported about the disappearance of Butler in February. He vanished in September while on a trip to New York City. Butler's family came to Channel 9 saying they weren't getting any help from the New York City Police Department.
Last week, detectives from New York came to Orlando and reviewed video of an interview Heath did with Anna Lioznov, who was dating Butler at the time of his disappearance. Lioznov was the last person seen with Butler and she told Heath that when he interviewed her in her Brooklyn apartment.
Chernyaev is the father of Lioznov's son.
"He's very manipulative guy, maybe, right? He's very controlling, maybe. But he's the best dad in the world," Lioznov said while talking about her ex-husband in the interview with Heath.
WFTV's source said Lioznov will not be charged in connection with Butler's murder.
"We got his body and we got his killer," the source said.
As for Chernyaev, the source said he was "a tough guy to crack" and added that the killing occurred in Lioznov's apartment.
That apartment is now an active crime scene, the source said.
Butler's body was found in Upstate New York's Port Jervis in October. But his body was only recently identified by a thumbprint. Police have not revealed the cause of death.
Butler's family said they are relieved to finally have closure in the case after nearly 9 months.
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