Suvechha Sarkar
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Twins: All-American Killers’ focuses on the devastating murders of 35-year-old Jose Luis Tovar-Barriga and his 14-year-old daughter, Anahi Corona-Tovar, along Antelope Road, California, in 2014. Their lives came to an abrupt halt during a reckless crime spree and an attempt to flee from the grasp of the authorities perpetrated by the twin brothers, Roman Andreyevich Glukhoy and Ruslan Glukhoy. Though they pleaded not guilty, the twins were ultimately held accountable for their lethal actions.
Roman and Ruslan Glukhoy’s Deadly Car Chase Ended up Taking Two Innocent Lives
Roman Andreyevich and Ruslan A. Glukhoy were born in Ukraine in 1995 and were the apple of their parents’ eyes. By 2002, the twins had moved to Sacramento, California, along with their parents. The brothers were bright students and found their one true passion in wrestling when they were just 15 years old. They began excelling in the sport when a severe car accident in August 2011 put their wrestling career at risk. Soon, the twins became addicted to painkillers, and the situation only got worse from there. Roman and Ruslin began resorting to crime to feed their drug habits. On May 27, 2013, Roman was arrested and convicted of receiving stolen goods and served a few weeks in prison.
By 2014, Roman and Ruslan had started trying to start anew. However, everything changed on the fateful morning of April 2, 2014. Around 2:50 am, they met with a friend, Yuriy V. Merkushev, and the three drove to a neighborhood in Auburn. They were stealing valuables from unlocked cars when a neighbor reported suspicious sounds to the officials. When police arrived at the scene and tried to initiate contact with them, they accelerated away from the area in an attempt to flee. This began a high-speed chase, and they were pursued through Newcastle to Interstate 80. Shortly after, Roman lost control and crashed the car. All three of them were unharmed, and the twins fled in a different direction from Yuriy.
Roman and Ruslin were hiding in a house’s backyard when the latter went inside and found the keys to a truck. He was driving the vehicle with Roman, and they were soon followed by the police. Around 6:30 am, Ruslin accelerated to over 100 mph as the chase got on the Interstate. Suddenly, he ran a red light along Antelope Road, California, and crashed into a car, killing Jose Luis Tovar-Barriga and Anahi Corona-Tovar on impact. Although the twins managed to flee again, Roman was soon tackled and arrested. That was followed by the arrest of Ruslin an hour later on April 2, 2014. While Ruslin was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, Roman was charged with two counts of second-degree murder. The other charges against them included burglary, carjacking, possession of stolen property, and many more.
Roman Glukhoy is Currently Incarcerated at a Prison in California
Roman Glukhoy’s trial with a separate jury commenced in late 2016. The prosecution argued that he was a willing participant in the crime, where he helped in attempting to steal vehicles and accompanied his brother throughout the crime series. They reportedly highlighted that Roman was present during the carjacking, and he did not exit the vehicle or attempt to stop the evasion despite having opportunities. However, Roman’s defense reportedly emphasized that he was a passenger and not the driver and did not foresee or intend for the murders to happen.
Although the defense admitted to some of the lesser charges, they pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. Ultimately, Roman was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit theft, and evading a peace officer with disregard for safety in December 2016. However, they found him not guilty on both counts of assault on a police officer. On January 20, 2017, Roman was sentenced to two consecutive 15-year-to-life imprisonment terms for the second-degree murders. It was followed by concurrent terms of two years for conspiracy to commit theft and two years for evading a police officer.
Roman will be eligible for parole not before April 2033. He also filed an appeal alleging his defence improperly admitted guilt without his consent and claiming that he should be eligible for relief under Senate Bill 1437, which limited the felony murder rule. However, the appeals court upheld the original sentence of the trial court in April 2022. Currently, Roman is serving his time in Folsom State Prison, located in Folsom, California.
Ruslan Glukhoy is Serving His Time at a Prison Facility Today
The separate jury trial of Ruslan Glukhoy commenced in Placer County Superior Court, California, in late 2016. The prosecution reportedly argued that he was the primary driver during the chase. They produced evidence in the court pointing towards his attempt to steal multiple vehicles and carjacking a Ford truck. The prosecution also reportedly mentioned that he was driving at the time of the fatal car crash that killed Jose and Anahi. They emphasized the fact that Ruslan’s reckless driving allegedly pointed towards his disregard for human life, which fit the requirements for first-degree murder charges.
On the other hand, Ruslan’s defense tried to downplay the intent that was required for the first-degree murder. They reportedly claimed that the deaths were not intentional but tragic accidents. After much deliberation, Ruslan was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances of multiple murders and murders during the commission of a felony in December 2016. He was additionally convicted of conspiracy to commit theft, evading a peace officer with disregard for safety, and first-degree burglary with a person present. On January 20, 2017, Ruslan was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Ruslan was also sentenced to concurrent terms of four years for burglary, two years for conspiracy to commit theft, two years for evading a peace officer, and an additional 180 days for trespassing. Ruslan had appealed his conviction on the grounds of insufficient evidence for burglary and evading charges, and also claimed that there was improper exclusion of psychological testimony. However, the California Court of Appeals upheld his conviction and sentence in April 2022. As of writing, Ruslan is serving his sentence in California State Prison, Solano, located in Vacaville, California.
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