After fiancee Anna Repkina is found dead, William Hargrove researches time travel “to correct a horrible mistake”


A Russian bride-to-be was found dead 5,500 miles from home. Investigators would soon learn Anna Repkina was unwittingly caught up in a love triangle and that her fiancé frantically researched time travel after her death, writing to strangers on WhatsApp: “… best friend made a mistake. I want to go back to keep from losing the woman that should be my wife.”

“48 Hours” correspondent Tracy Smith report on the case in “The Murder of Anna Repkina.”

Will Hargrove and Anna Repkina

Will Hargrove and Anna Repkina met online and after a whirlwind romance, the pair got engaged. What Repkina didn’t know when she relocated to the U.S. from Russia to marry Hargrove was that she was moving right into the middle of a love triangle.

Benton County Sheriff’s Office


In 2016, Repkina was a 26-year-old Moscow native who loved rock music and cats and had a fun sense of humor. She had recently gone through a breakup with her boyfriend of seven years. In search of love, she decided to join some online dating sites. She thought she’d found what she was looking for when she met William Hargrove, a 26-year-old Oregonian who happened to have an affinity for all things Russian.

Their online relationship quickly took off, and Repkina decided to fly to the United States to meet her new love interest in person and spend the Christmas holidays with him in Oregon. After a whirlwind 10-day trip, Repkina returned to Russia with a souvenir — an engagement ring from Hargrove. She made plans to pack up her life in Russia, move to Oregon, and plan a wedding.

What Repkina wasn’t planning on was meeting Hargrove’s secret girlfriend.

Michelle Chavez

Will Hargrove was dating Michelle Chavez the whole time he’d been romancing Anna Repkina.

Benton County Sheriff’s Office


When Repkina first met Hargrove, he was renting a room from a woman named Michelle Chavez, who was living with her husband in a loveless marriage. Unbeknownst to Repkina, Hargrove and Chavez were involved in a passionate affair even before she came to the states. Hargrove and Chavez continued their relationship after Hargrove’s proposal to Repkina, and when Repkina moved to Oregon to marry Hargrove, Chavez was shocked, and very angry.

Chavez wanted Hargrove to only be with her, and pressured him to end his relationship with Repkina. She issued an ultimatum — to choose between her and Repkina. Within days, Repkina was dead.

The day after Easter 2017, Repkina’s body was found on a remote logging road in Alsea, Oregon. She had been killed by a single shotgun blast to the back of the head. But who pulled the trigger?

That’s the question the lead detective, Lieutenant Chris Duffitt, was trying to answer when he first arrived on the scene. “We found several pieces of trash,” said Duffitt. “Fast food bags, cigarette cartons, candy wrappers that were here. And at that point, we don’t know what’s evidence and what’s not.”

hargrove-7.jpg

A  crucial clue: a KFC receipt found with other trash near Anna Repkina’s body led investigators to her fiancé, Will Hargrove.

Benton County Sheriff’s Office


One of the pieces of trash turned out to be a treasure. Investigators were able to trace the information found on a KFC receipt back to Will Hargrove. 

In the days after Repkina’s death, Hargrove exhibited some rather peculiar behavior.

Hargrove went on a bizarre internet deep dive. “He is researching time travel,” said Detective Chris Dale. “He’s saved screenshots of web pages that show you how to do a particular spell to travel back in time. And we also see communication through WhatsApp in which he is trying to ask for help in how to travel back in time.” Hargrove said he wanted to correct a horrible mistake that his “best friend” made. He was so desperate to get this information on time travel that he offered his soul as a reward to strangers on the internet who might be able to help him.

Will Hargrove ATM surveillance

Will Hargrove was caught on video surveillance at various ATM’s dispensing cash from Anna Repkina’s account

Benton County Sheriff’s Office


In addition to his strange internet encounters, Hargrove was caught on video surveillance at various ATM’s withdrawing cash from Repkina’s account. “He made a $200 withdrawal from this machine, and then engaged in some conversation with some employees at that gas station, where he actually ended up hugging one of them and crying about the fact that his girlfriend, Anna Repkina, had left him,” said Duffitt. 

Hargrove withdrew a total of $800 from Repkina’s account. With a sudden influx of cash, he made a car insurance payment, went shopping at Walmart for Star Wars themed LEGOs, and bought candy and cigars. 

After connecting Hargrove to the crime scene through the KFC receipt, investigators brought Hargrove in for questioning and ultimately charged him with Repkina’s murder. The trash left near Repkina’s body, Hargrove’s strange internet encounters, and theft caught on camera led Hargrove to be formally indicted for his fiancée’s murder in July 2018.

But when Hargrove’s trial began in October 2019, the defense would spin an entirely new theory as to what happened to Repkina. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: On October 2019, Hargrove was was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years. His murder conviction was overturned on appeal in 2023. The reversal was based on a flawed search warrant and the improper collection of some evidence. A new trial is set to begin in April 2025.  



Source link

Leave a Reply

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get our latest articles delivered straight to your inbox. No spam, we promise.

Recent Reviews


For Michelle and Clay, adoption out of foster care was the best option for expanding their family. The couple had three children and several miscarriages, but still felt they had love to give a child. 

“I felt like we should name her Lilly before we ever knew she existed. I thought that’s what we would name her and Clay made fun of the name. ‘Oh, what do we call her Lilypad? Ha,ha,ha,'” Michelle mimicked her husband with a laugh. “So then I got a call from social services and they said, ‘We’ve got a child we’d like you to consider. Her name is Lilly.'”

“It was really like a family decision. It was exciting,” said Makayla, Michelle and Clay’s oldest daughter. She was 11 years old when Lilly came to the family. 

“Lilly’s abuse was so severe that the parental rights were terminated very quickly. She was hurt when she was 5 months old,” Michelle explained.

“Going from her not really responding to us at all to then she was finally responding to us, it was really neat,” Makayla recalled. 

jalysa-phone-video-frame-2698.jpg

CBS


Makayla spent years go to Lilly’s therapy appointments and learning how to care for her. The experience shaped Makayla’s future. 

“I don’t think I would have been a special education teacher without that and had the patience with kids that I do. I can be so patient with kids,” she told CBS News Colorado. 

Lilly is 15 now. She goes to high school. 

When asked if she likes school, Lilly replied, “Yep, except when we have fire drills. Those are the worst.” 

“It changed my outlook on kids and what they can do,” Makayla said.

Growing up with Lilly had a profound impact on Makayla. When it came time for her to have a family of her own, she also considered adoption.

“There’s just so many kids out there that need good homes,” she said.

LINK: A Day for Wednesday’s Child

CBS Colorado has been partners with Raise the Future for nearly 40 years. Join CBS Colorado for a day of fundraising and awareness during A Day for Wednesday’s Child on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.



Source link