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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The two people charged in the shooting death of an employee at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have been identified.

Alexander Bulakhov, 32, was shot during an apparent robbery Sunday night on Tennessee Street and West Butler Avenue by Butler Park in downtown Memphis.

Monday afternoon, police arrested 23-year-old Marious Ward and 22-year-old Brandy Rucker at Whitney Avenue and Steele Street in Frayser.

Brandy Rucker (left), Marious Ward (right)

Both are in jail, each facing a charge of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery.

The two are set to appear in court Wednesday morning.

Memphis murder map: Homicides in 2023

St. Jude confirmed in a statement that the victim was a member of the St. Jude community, but declined to provide further details.

A LinkedIn profile with the name Alexander Bulakhov showed he was a Post-Doctoral Researcher at St. Jude Hospital. He had only worked at the hospital since July, having moved from Brooklyn, where he worked for the State University of New York.

Neither Ward nor Rucker had previous charges listed in a Shelby County criminal database, other than a traffic ticket. Juvenile Court said it had no previous delinquency record on either suspect.

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