Prime suspect in hate crime is outside U.S.

"We're a Christian family," Tatyana Vusik said.

She said she asked her husband to tell Singh's group to calm down, that there were children present.

At that point, Tatyana Vusik said, the other group began attacking her family verbally, telling them to go back to Russia. She said the group cursed at her and her sister, Dasha Yakovchuk.

Tatyana Vusik recalled that it was Singh who first mentioned "gay" as part of a crude sexual invitation apparently meant for her husband.

She recalled that her husband said the atmosphere was growing tense, so he used the word "gay" as part of a joke.

She said neither she nor her husband is part of any anti-gay group or movement.

An earlier version of events from the Sheriff's Department has confirmed that there was a confrontation between the two groups, but that the "Russian-speaking" group had hurled homophobic slurs at Singh and racial remarks at him and his friends, according to witness statements.

"That's what they say, but they don't know the truth," Yakovchuk told The Bee in an interview Tuesday. "It was exactly the other way around."

Tatyana recalled that after the exchange began, she, her sister and the children left the park. Her husband and Shevchenko and another friend stayed behind.

When Vusik came home later that night, he told his wife there was a confrontation, and he acted in self-defense. She recalled that Vusik said Singh had lifted a broken glass bottle and aimed at him. He threw a "soft punch" and ran away, Tatyana Vusik said.

Sheriff's detectives said there are no accounts from independent witnesses or any of Singh's friends that support that account.

Tatyana Vusik said her husband had no idea that Singh had died when he left in early July for a business trip exporting vehicles.

She refused to disclose her husband's whereabouts, but said she has spoken with him at least twice a week since he left.

In their phone conversations, she said, Andrey Vusik has repeatedly expressed his condolences to Singh's family. She said he is having a difficult time grasping the gravity of the crime.

"We just got in the confrontation between the churches and the gay community; what happened was a tragic accident, and had nothing to do with gays," she said through a translator.

After Tuesday's press conference, community activists gathered at sheriff's headquarters to express gratitude.

"This is very significant -- we're moving forward," said Georgette Imura, a leader in the Asian/Pacific Islander community and chair of the Satender Justice Coalition. "I'm very excited that the suspects have been identified and that they have been charged with hate crimes."

Sacramento's gay and lesbian community was particularly shocked at Singh's death, fearing that it represented an escalation in the rift between them and Slavic evangelical leaders who preach that homosexuality is a sin.

Sgt. Merkins said Tuesday that she could provide no information about the church affiliations of Vusik or Shevchenko.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Crystal Carreon can be reached at (916) 321-1203 or ccarreon@sacbee.com. Bee researcher Sheila Kern contributed to this report.