One year after Burning Man stabbing, new details surface but killer remains at large

Vadim Kruglov, a 37-year-old Russian-born man living in Washington state, was found dead with a knife embedded in his neck inside a red-and-white tent at Burning Man as the central effigy burned on Aug. 30, 2025. Pershing County Sheriff’s Sgt. Nathan Carmichael said the wound left no chance for resistance, and the weapon and Kruglov’s phone were recovered at the scene. Earlier that day, Black Rock Rangers escorted him to Rampart, the festival’s makeshift medical facility, where he was treated and released at about 5 p.m.; his whereabouts between then and the 9:14 p.m. discovery remain unknown.

Witnesses recall him DJing with two men around 2 a.m., but those individuals have not been identified despite numerous tips. Campmates described a sudden increase in paranoia after Kruglov used cocaine and possibly meth, and noted his preoccupation with getting an Apple AirTag to function in the desert. The killing marks the first homicide in the event’s history, and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office continues to seek information, urging anyone with leads to come forward.