Wife of American soldier jailed in Russia claims she saw his local girlfriend stab him during video call with their six-year-old daughter
U.S. Army soldier Gordon Black made a surprise video call during his overseas tour in South Korea with his six-year-old daughter in Texas, months before his arrest in Russia.
However, instead of a normal conversation, his daughter and wife witnessed an argument between Black and his Russian girlfriend, which turned bloody, his wife Megan said.
The screaming turned to violence as his girlfriend clawed at his face. Then she pulled a knife.
βShe stabbed him,β Megan Black said, adding that her husband βhad blood on his face.β Her daughter was distraught.
Black, a U.S. Army staff sergeant stationed at Camp Humphreys outside Seoul, was arrested on May 2 in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.
Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, 35, had just finished his service in South Korea and traveled to Russia without any form of authorization before he was arrested
According to Russian authorities, he is in pre-trial detention, accused of theft after an argument.
Megan’s attorney, Jeff Linick, described the fight that broke out during the video call.
‘She got a call from him out of the blue, insisting she speak to his daughter. βShe wasn’t expecting the call,β he said.
‘When she got it, he was apparently in some sort of taxi. At one point a woman came into the middle of the screen and apparently started shouting something in Russian.
‘She doesn’t speak Russian, so she doesn’t know exactly what was said. She was clearly in the car with him, and at some point this escalated to her actually pulling a knife on him.
“The altercation… escalated dramatically, which I believe was at that point and I think at that point you ended the conversation.”
Kremlin-controlled Russian television said Black was arrested for beating a woman, identified as Aleksa Viktorovna, 31, (pictured together) and stealing money from her
Jones said Black met his girlfriend at a club in South Korea over a year ago and they had a “volatile” relationship
His mother Melody Jones said he followed his girlfriend to Russia even though they fought like cats and dogs.
‘I told them both: you don’t have to be together. One of you is going to get hurt one of these days,β she said.
“You know, because when you fight, it’s not a good thing if it’s the only thing you do.”
Black’s arrest presents another headache for U.S. officials already dealing with several high-profile detention cases in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Black, an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, violated Army regulations by traveling to Russia without military permission and flying through China to get there, the Pentagon says.
Neither Russian authorities, nor the Pentagon, nor Black’s wife, nor his mother have suggested espionage as a concern. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the case contained no political element.
Megan became emotional as she described life with her husband, explaining that they were finalizing their divorce when Black was arrested.
Linick said Black’s wife has not received any of her husband’s housing allowance, which he receives from the military.
He said she and her daughter are entitled to support under military regulations, even if the couple is divorced.
His mother Melody Jones said Black was on two weeks leave when he traveled to Russia
Black claimed his girlfriend was deported from South Korea after they were involved in a dispute in the fall of 2023
Although Megan cares for their daughter, her husband refused to pay court-ordered child support, Linick said.
It wasn’t until she left for the military and his lawyers recently started deducting child support from his paycheck, he said.
“It took some real teeth-grinding … threatening law enforcement to finally get the military β against his wishes, I believe β to finally withhold some of his child support from his payments,” Linick said.
The Army did not respond to a request for comment on relief payments and Black could not be reached for comment. Linick said Black represented himself in the Texas divorce.
Megan said she met her husband in 2014 at a bar in Killeen, Texas, near his base at Fort Cavazos, and recalled that he was initially charming and they quickly hit it off.
‘He was good to me at one point. He accepted me because I was different because I have a speech impediment,β she said.
Aleksa Viktorovna is depicted with a gun in her hand
Around 2018, things started to deteriorate and Black initiated divorce proceedings shortly after leaving for South Korea.
‘He wanted an open one [relationship]Megan said.
Megan said she first heard of the Russian girlfriend in January 2022 when she saw photos of them together on Facebook. The girlfriend referred to him as βher husband,β Black said.
Jones said she believed the Russian friend had been “deported back” to Russia from South Korea, possibly after a problem with her paperwork. She had warned her son not to follow her there.
βI tried to tell him not to go,β she said.
Megan said she and her daughter had no idea he was in Russia and had expected him in Texas since his tour of South Korea had just ended.
Melody Jones said Black was on two weeks leave when he traveled to Russia, and she felt he was being set up because she suspected his girlfriend was a spy.
Black violated Army regulations by traveling to Russia without authorization and flying through China to get there, the Pentagon said.
Neither Russian authorities, the Pentagon, nor Black’s wife suggested anything like espionage as a problem.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the case contained no political element.
On May 2, the day Russian authorities said they arrested him at a local hotel, Megan said she received a message from him “saying he wasn’t coming home.”
That was the last she heard from him.
She said the case has damaged her daughter’s perception of her father. βShe now views her father as a bad man,β she said.