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Boyfriend of L.A. ballerina Ksenia Karelina sentenced to prison in Russia “begging American people to help”
As Russian-American Ksenia Karelina prepares to appeal her 12-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty Thursday to treason, her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, is grappling with the harsh reality of her situation.
“How did I end up here? How did Ksenia end up here?” he reacted to Thursday’s sentencing during an exclusive interview with “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Gayle King.
Russia sentences Karelina for treason
Karelina was sentenced after pleading guilty earlier this month to treason. She was arrested earlier this year while on a trip to Russia for donating about $51 to an American-based humanitarian group helping Ukrainians suffering in the war, according to Russian state media.
Her lawyers said she acknowledged transferring the funds, though she did not admit to intentionally directing them to organizations that might have used the money for actions against Russia. She didn’t expect that her donation would end up supporting anti-Russian activities.
According to Van Heerden, the donation she made to Ukraine in 2022, which was legal under U.S. law, was later used as evidence to charge her with treason under a law Russia passed in 2023.
She was “exercising her First Amendment rights. She has done nothing wrong,” he said.
“She wanted to go home”
Van Heerden said he was uneasy about Karelina’s decision to return to Russia this year, given the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. But he said she “had no worry in the world,” assuring him it would be safe since she was entering the country as a dual American-Russian citizen.
“She wanted to go home. She made it very clear that she wanted to go home,” Van Heerden told King.
Ksenia was confident there was no danger, especially since she didn’t follow the news closely, and Van Heerden admitted he didn’t either. Wanting to fulfill her wish to visit home, he bought her a plane ticket as a birthday gift in December. The pair traveled to Istanbul for New Year’s. He was going to travel with her to Russia from there, but he didn’t feel comfortable. So, she traveled alone to Russia and he returned home to Los Angeles.
The trouble began, Van Heerden said, when Karelina arrived in Russia. He said she was detained at the airport and questioned for 12 to 16 hours.
Van Heerden is trying to make sense of how the Russian authorities knew about Karelina’s donation. He recalled a strange interaction at the airport in Istanbul when Karelina was preparing to fly to Russia. A Russian airline employee double-checked her details and asked if she was traveling with another passport, which made the situation seem suspicious.
After Karelina confirmed she was also an American citizen, they allowed her to board the flight, but upon her arrival in Russia, she was detained, questioned and later arrested.
Van Heerden said he was struggling to keep his emotions in check as he grappled with the injustice of the situation.
“Why are we in this position?” ased Van Heerden, adding that “Ksenia should be home and I’m angry.”
Pleading U.S. to help bring Karelina home
Regarding the U.S. State Department’s involvement, Van Heerden said he has not heard much from the entity and has had limited access to Karelina in the eight months she has been detained. He questioned why she was not involved in this month’s prisoner swap when three Americans — including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — were released by Russia.
“I was pushing for the last eight months, I was pushing for a wrongful detention so that when we do have a prison swap, that Ksenais on that list and made, made a priority,” he said. “I was slowed down. I was told we have time. I was told, ‘Chris, don’t worry.’ There will be no prison swap until after the election or maybe early next year. So we have time and I was pushing, but I was pushed back. Guess what? There was a prison swap two weeks ago. And Ksenia was not on that list.”
Van Heerden said he is able to communicate with Karelina through letters, though he knows they’re being monitored by Russian authorities. Over the past eight months, they’ve exchanged letters about twice a month. He said he believes Karelina’s situation is unwarranted and questioned why she has not yet been officially designated as wrongfully detained, given her 12-year sentence.
Now, he is calling on the American public to support efforts to secure her return.
“I’m not a begging man, but I’m begging the American people to help me get Ksenia back,” he said.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.