A woman who escaped justice the first time around for an alleged murder is back behind bars after being arrested for the second time in connection with the death of a doctor who worked for St. Jude’s hospital.
Brandy Rucker, 23, is in jail after being charged with first degree murder and aggravated robbery. She was initially arrested in January, along with Marious Ward, for allegedly killing Dr. Alexander Bulakhov while he was strolling in downtown Memphis with his wife and toddler daughter in November of 2023.
The arresting cops say the pair wanted to rob Dr. Bulakhov, but he fought back and protected his family, and ended up being shot to death in front of them by Ward. The victim’s wife, Anastassia Bulakhova, said Marious Ward demanded that the couple turn over their money, and right after that, Ward shot her husband dead. “We didn’t hear anything else from him,” she said.
In court she pointed to Ward as the killer, saying ‘I will remember his eyes forever.”
Being the actual shooter, Ward was arrested and charged with murder. Rucker too was arrested and charged, but then prosecutors dropped the charges against her after a judge said the state had no probable cause to believe she committed a crime based on the evidence available at the time.
But the Shelby County District Attorney’s office did not give up on the case, and took it directly to a grand jury, which indicted Rucker. This was all predicted by Rucker’s defense lawyer Lauren Fuchs, who had warned that the DA might make that move.
In a statement sent to local media, the DA’s office said the grand jury did find probably cause, which gave cops the ability to get a warrant for her arrest. But the indictment happened in April of 2024, and she was not arrested until this week in August.
She was arrested Monday evening, August 20, and is in jail held on a $1 million bond. There is no word yet on when her first court appearance may be.
Rucker’s role in the crime is alleged to be acting as the getaway driver. Prosecutors say Ward ran to Rucker’s car after shooting the doctor and she drove them away from the scene.
