Man who killed 6 in Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale had been guest at victim’s home

Larisa Blyudaya did a favor for a friend. Her family paid a devastating price for her kindness.

Blyudaya, 46, and her son, Ben Azizov, 19, were shot and killed in the Victoria Park neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale, their bodies discovered Tuesday after police responded to a “wellness check” at their apartment. The tragedy of their deaths multiplied in Sarasota, where Russell Kot, believed to be the shooter, found and murdered three other members of Blyudaya’s family: her mother, Florita Stolyar, 66, stepfather Anatoly Ioffe, 61, and brother Yaroslav “Stan” Blyudoy, 39.

A sixth victim was also found Tuesday at the Sarasota crime scene: Olga Greinert, 49, a family friend who happened to be there at the time Kot, 51, arrived.

According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were directed to a home in a gated community in the city by a 911 call. They found a wounded Ioffe in the front yard. He was taken to a hospital where he later died. Inside the house, deputies found the other victims, including Kot, who evidently shot himself.

“Blyudaya allowed Kot to stay in her residence as a guest temporarily while he looked for a permanent place to stay in Florida,” said Seth Ginsberg, an attorney representing surviving members of Blyudaya’s family. He refuted earlier reports indicating a romantic relationship between Kot and Blyudaya. “He was only to live there until her son, Ben, came to live with her in January. Larisa and Kot were not romantically involved.”

Ginsberg said he had no knowledge of what motivated Kot to kill anyone.

“While the family understands the public’s interest in what led to these events,” he said, “at this point the reasons that Kot committed these unspeakable acts is of little relevance to them. As friends and family, our only concern is the welfare of the surviving family as they try to move forward and heal.”

Friends of the family started a GoFundMe page identifying the victims and asking for help with the challenges ahead.

“They were not just names in a headline,” the friends wrote on the GoFundMe page. “They were loving parents, devoted parents, cherished children, and dear friends. Their loss leaves an unfillable space in the hearts of everyone who knew them.”

Azizov has a surviving father in Broward County. Efforts to find contact information for him on Thursday was unsuccessful.

Blyudaya also has a surviving daughter, Eve.