MOSCOW, November 5 (RAPSI, Maria Petrova) - Moscow's Golovinsky District Court will consider without a jury the case of Alexei Kabanov, the founder of a popular chain of cafes in Moscow who killed and dismembered his journalist wife, the court's spokesperson told RAPSI on Tuesday.

The court has thus rejected a request filed by Kabanov.

His wife Irina Kabanova worked at a well-known radio station. Kabanov founded OGI, an iconic chain of cafes that were a popular meet-up place for artists, poets, and journalists in the late 1990s. He had the reputation of a sophisticated bohemian and mingled with artists.

The investigation uncovered that he killed his wife during a domestic argument after she learned he was seeing someone else. Kabanov strangled her with a computer cord while their kids were asleep in the other room. He then brought her body into the bathroom. The investigators believe that Kabanov's experience as a chef may have helped him to more easily dismember his wife's body.

According to the investigators, Kabanov then hid Irina's body parts on the balcony and posted a message on his social networking pages that his wife had gone missing.

Later, the defendant borrowed a car from his mistress and hid his wife's remains in the trunk. He planned to take the remains of her body out of town, but was detained by police after they wiretapped his phone in January.

This murder has evoked a wide response among Russian Internet users. The pre-trial hearing is scheduled for November 11.