MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - A United Russia regional councillor was killed near Moscow on Wednesday evening, a police source told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

Grigory Nosikov, 48, was a member of the town council in Kubinka, some 60 miles west of the capital.

His body was found by his wife next to the automatic gates of their private house at 8:30 p.m. (16:30 GMT) on Wednesday. It was initially believed that he had been shot dead, but later established that he had been killed with a sharp object, the source said.

Nosikov was also the owner of the Zalesye transportation company, and police are working on the theory that his murder could have been connected to his business activities.