DEERFIELD TWP. — A Russian immigrant is expected to plead guilty Thursday, March 25, in a Warren County court to charges of gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in the death of a man whose remains were found in 2007.

Common Pleas Judge James Flannery refused to toss out statements Ermek Abdiladaev made to police.

Defense attorney Charlie Rittgers said his client really has no choice but to plead guilty, since he admitted his part in an incident involving a corpse that was found in southern Warren County’s Hamilton Twp. in May 2007.

“In this particular case his defense was that motion (to suppress),” Rittgers said. “He could try the case, but there wouldn’t be any guess as to the outcome. A logical consequence of that plea will be deportation.”

Abdiladaev, 40, of Gurnee, Ill., was charged Nov. 10 and remains in jail on a $50,000 bond.

Flannery ruled on the suppression motion March 12, finding that Abdiladaev understood his Miranda rights when he spoke to Hamilton Twp. police in Gurnee, Ill., last year.

Abdiladaev was arrested outside Chicago on Nov. 4 in the slaying of Russian immigrant Aleksander Alferov, whose remains turned up in the county in 2007.

Police don’t think Abdiladaev killed Alferov, but was involved in the incident in some way. The two charges against Abdiladaev are felonies.

Alferov’s remains were found by tree trimmers near a small shack in a wooden area on U.S. 22/Ohio 3. He was apparently beaten to death in fall 2000, officials said.

Alferov’s body was not identified until September of last year.

Prior to his disappearance in 2000, Alferov lived in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Roselawn and operated his own cleaning business in that city.

An autopsy revealed he was beaten severely on the head, according to police.

Because his remains were so badly decomposed, police used dental records and tracked down relatives who live in Russia to obtain the DNA samples that were used to verify his identity.

Bruce McGary, chief assistant county prosecutor, said he understands Abdiladaev’s predicament.

But as of Tuesday, March 23, McGary said he would not agree to drop the charges to the level of misdemeanor. Any felony conviction requires deportation.

“He’s between a rock and a hard place. If he is convicted of a felony, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) will automatically start the proceedings to deport him...,” McGary said. “That’s what makes this case so difficult for him because it’s kind of an all or nothing, there’s no middle ground.”

McGary said it will be up to Flannery to decide whether Abdiladaev will serve any time before he is sent to his homeland.