Dad's grim task after daughter, 24, 'dismembered by professor lover'
The father of a murdered university student allegedly killed by her 64-year-old lover has told the court he had to identify his daughter’s remains after they were found dismembered.
Investigators allege Oleg Sokolov, who taught at St Petersburg State University in Russia, shot and killed Anastasia Yeshchenko, 24, at his apartment in November and then dismembered her body.
Sokolov was detained after being pulled from the Moika River outside his apartment. Authorities alleged he had a backpack with two severed arms inside.
The limbs were identified as Ms Yeshchenko’s. Investigators say other body parts were found in the river and in Sokolov’s apartment.
The 64-year-old allegedly told investigators he and Ms Yeshchenko had a romantic relationship, and he shot her during a quarrel.
Sokolov was known for his books about the Napoleonic era and his enthusiastic participation in reenactments of historic battles. The alleged murder case has attracted broad attention in Russia.
Ms Yeshchenko’s father Oleg told the court on Tuesday (local time) he had to identify his daughter’s remains.
"On 11 and 12 November I identified the head, arm and torso of my daughter,” he told the court, according to The Mirror.
Ms Yeshchenko’s mother Galina told the court her daughter and Sokolov had a quarrel before her death.
“She had a fight with Sokolov because she wanted to go to a friend's birthday. He hit her and called her ungrateful,” she told the court.
Sokolov’s neighbour Angelina Volskaya, 24, also testified. She told the court she heard Ms Yeschenko yelled: “Don’t touch me, please.”
She added she heard the student scream five times along with the sound of crashing furniture.
Forensic expert Viktor Vasilenko told the court Sokolov initially tried to suffocate Ms Yeshchenko, but that was not her cause of death.
He added four shots were fired with “three penetrating”.
Sokolov’s defence will present their case at a later date. His lawyers have also managed to obtain permission to use messages from his and Ms Yeshchenko’s phones as evidence.
with The Associated Press
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