VELIKY NOVGOROD, December 25 (RIA Novosti) - A 47-year-old man from northwest Russia killed his friend while trying to shoot a pack of cigarettes off his head, local prosecutors said on Tuesday.
The man, from the Novgorod Region, initially claimed that he and his friend, both in state of intoxication, had tried to see what happens if a Roman Candle is set alight on a person's head.
This version was refuted by forensic expertise and witnesses, however.
During subsequent questioning by police, the man admitted that he had bet his friend that he could shoot a packet of cigarettes off the top of his head. He was unable to, and his friend died of a fatal gunshot wound.
The man will face up to three years in prison if found guilty of manslaughter.
In 1951, the famous American 'beat' author, William S. Burroughs, shot dead his wife, Joan Vollmer after drunkenly attempting to shoot a glass off her head.
