"I could never imagine this could happen"

The National Guard sergeant whose family was slain in a Kirkland house spoke publicly about the tragedy for the first time today, saying he's still grappling with why someone would do this to his family.

Sgt. Leonid Milkin, 29, returned from military duty in Iraq Thursday after hearing the news that his wife Olga Milkin, 28, two sons Justin, 5, and Andrew, 3 and sister-in-law Lyubov Botvina, 24, were killed in a fire Monday. While en route he was told that police had determined that the family had been slain before the fire was set.

"I could never imagine this could happen. In Iraq I saw lots of violence," Milkin said today. "I expected those things to happen in Iraq. Never in my worst nightmare could I imagine something like this to happen in America, to my family."

Milkin, accompanied by family members, visited the heavily damaged home Thursday and again this morning.

Milkin is still in the National Guard but will serve the rest of his duty in Washington.

He said he last spoke to his wife on Friday, three days before the fire. He said they were making plans since he was due to return home in about six weeks.

"We were talking about how I'm going to come back and what I will do," he said. "Maybe go on vacation and just enjoy life. We were so excited. So ready to be together again."

Lisa Chiu: (206) 464-3347 or lchiu@seattletimes.com