Svetlana Pagoda Hanson, a 25-year-old Caucasian female, found her life tragically cut short on August 10, 2010, in what should have been the safety of her Eagan, Minnesota, home. On that turbulent Tuesday night, as a severe thunderstorm raged outside, a shocking act of violence unfolded. Svetlana and her husband, Charles Hanson, age 42, were shot and killed through the front window of their house. The gunman was identified as Svetlana's ex-husband, 29-year-old Robin C. Bhattacharyya.
After carrying out the deadly shooting, Bhattacharyya then took his own life in the side yard of the residence. The date of this horrific event was just one day after Svetlana's 25th birthday.
At the time of the incident, three children were asleep inside the home and were physically unharmed. This included Svetlana and Charles' 9-month-old son, Bjorn, as well as Charles' two children from a previous marriage. Svetlana's father was also present in the house at the time of the shooting and was not injured. The motive for the attack was not definitively determined by law enforcement, though it was clearly rooted in a past relationship. Police reports indicated a history of domestic issues, with a domestic assault reported at the residence in May 2009 and a violation of a no-contact order reported two months before the killings.
Svetlana was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and had previously interned at Starkey Laboratories, where she met Charles Hanson. Their divorce had been finalized in April 2009 and was described in court documents as uneventful, with no major disputes over property or allegations of abuse. The tragic and sudden loss of Svetlana and Charles left their families and community in shock, as they were remembered as a loving couple devoted to their children.
