In a horrifying act of violence that shattered an immigrant family’s dreams, Larisa Blyudaya, a 46-year-old loving mother and daughter, became one of the first victims in a deadly spree that spanned hundreds of miles across Florida. Authorities say her former partner, Russell Kot, 51, ended her life and that of her 18-year-old son Ben Azizov in their Fort Lauderdale home on February 10, 2026—mere days before what friends describe as an anticipated joyful reunion with loved ones.

The nightmare began in the upscale Victoria Park neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale, where police responded to a welfare check and discovered the bodies of Larisa and Ben, both shot multiple times. Kot, who had briefly lived with Larisa after moving from Illinois in late 2025, had separated from her at the end of the year. What drove him to this unimaginable act remains under investigation, but the carnage didn’t stop there.

After the Fort Lauderdale killings, Kot drove more than three hours northwest to the gated Amberlea community in Sarasota County. There, in a home on Fallcrest Circle, he ambushed and fatally shot Larisa’s family members: her mother Florita “Rita” Stolyar, 66; stepfather Anatoly “Tony” Ioffe, 61; brother Yaroslav “Stan” Blyudoy, 39; and Olga Greinert, 49, a beloved housekeeper and family friend who worked at the family’s medical clinic. Kot then turned the gun on himself, leaving more than 20 shell casings scattered inside the residence as grim evidence of the brutality.

Each victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds in what investigators call a targeted rampage. Kot reportedly waited inside the Sarasota home after initially killing two, then ambushed the others upon their return. The motive is still unclear, though the deep personal connection to Larisa suggests unresolved rage from their breakup.

Larisa was remembered by friends and family as bubbly, kind-hearted, and always positive—a devoted mother to Ben and her surviving daughter Eve, and a pillar for her extended family who had built new lives in America after immigrating. Ben, just beginning adulthood, had his whole future ahead. The family’s grief is profound; surviving relatives, including Eve and Ben’s father Eldar, along with Stan’s fiancée Leslie, are left to pick up the pieces amid unimaginable loss.

Communities in both Fort Lauderdale and Sarasota have rallied with support, donations, and tributes pouring in through fundraisers honoring the victims’ warmth, hard work, and open hearts. This cross-state tragedy marks one of the deadliest violent incidents in Sarasota’s history and serves as a stark reminder of the hidden dangers in domestic disputes that can escalate to unimaginable horror.

As funerals proceed and investigations continue, the question lingers: How could one man’s actions erase an entire branch of a loving family in a single day? The pain echoes far beyond the crime scenes, leaving only shattered lives and endless sorrow.