STORY: “The last time I got a message from him was May 2nd, telling me that he wasn’t coming home.”
The wife of U.S. Army soldier Gordon Black, who was arrested in Russia earlier this month, told Reuters in an exclusive interview that she witnessed his Russian girlfriend stab him during a video call to his 6-year-old daughter months before his detention.
Megan Black became emotional as she explained that they were finalizing their divorce when Black was arrested.
Her attorney, Jeff Linick, detailed the fight that broke out during the video call.
“She got a call out of the blue from him insisting on speaking with his daughter. She was not expecting the call. When she got it, he was apparently in a taxi cab of some sort. [FLASH] At some point in the midst of this, a woman entered into the picture and apparently started yelling something in Russian, she doesn’t speak Russian so she doesn’t exactly know what was stated, she was obviously in the vehicle with him, and at some point this escalated into where she actually pulled a knife on him, and the altercation [inaudible] escalated dramatically, which I believe at which point I think you cut the call off at that point, is that correct? (MEGAN SAYS YES) Okay.”
Gordon Black could not be reached for comment about the video call. The Army did not respond to a request for comment about his case. Reuters was unsuccessful in reaching Black through the State Department.
Black, seen here in video from 2009, had been stationed in Seoul, South Korea.
The Army staff sergeant was arrested on May 2 in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok and is being held in pre-trial confinement, accused of theft after an argument, according to Russian authorities.
Megan Black said the case has hurt their daughter’s image of her father.
“She’s been very upset. She now looks at her dad as a bad man.”
She said she met her husband in 2014 at a bar in Killeen, Texas, and recalled that he was charming at first.
“He was good to me, at one point. He accepted me, as I was different because I have this speech impediment.”
Things began to sour around 2018, and he initiated divorce proceedings shortly after leaving for South Korea.
MEGAN BLACK: “He wanted like an open…”
JEFF LINICK: “Are you saying there was a dispute over lifestyle choices? Is that what you are saying? (MEGAN BLACK SAYS YES) I think they had some disputes about how to continue their personal lives and personal relationships.”
She said she first learned of the Russian girlfriend around January of 2022 when she saw pictures of them together on Facebook.
Black broke Army rules by traveling to Russia without authorization, and flew through China to get there, according to the Pentagon.
Neither Russian authorities, the Pentagon nor Black’s wife have suggested anything like espionage as a concern.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the case had no political element.
Source Agencies
