The saga surrounding Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov’s assault case has finally drawn to an end. On Friday, the case was finally dismissed due to the fact that the prosecutors could not prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This was first reported by the NBC affiliate in Denver.
Varlamov was free on $5,000 bond while waiting for the conclusion of the case after being arrested on November 22nd on third-degree assault charges. He stood accused of assaulting Evgenia Vavrinyuk, his live-in girlfriend at the time. The arrest made international news since Varlamov is projected to be the starter on the Russian Olympic hockey team. Russian officials came out publicly and stated that the arrest was a way to weaken the Russian Olympic team.
This is a difficult ending to the case. Just because Varlamov couldn’t be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt doesn’t mean the assault didn’t take place. All it means is that there wasn’t enough evidence for a conviction. Yes, the whole story could’ve been fabricated by Vavrinyuk but unfortunately we will never know the truth. If the assault did take place, then let’s hope all parties involved get the help they need. This may not be the closure Vavrinyuk was looking for but at least she has some now.
