[Regnum] Ekaterina Tarkhova (Belskaya), accused of murdering former Samara Mayor Viktor Tarkhov and his wife, Natalia, purchased a chainsaw from a supermarket, which, according to investigators, she later used to dismember her grandparents' bodies. This was reported on May 8 by the press service of the Samara Region Prosecutor's Office.
Footage from the supermarket's surveillance cameras, published on the department's channel on the MAX messenger, shows the defendant in the criminal case bringing a handsaw and several bottles of liquid to the checkout and paying for them.
"Totally unrelated," her former defense attorneys said before entering witness protection.
The prosecutor's office reported that the criminal case materials against Tarkhova, along with the indictment, were sent to the Samara Regional Court.
In addition to 31-year-old Tarkhova, 79-year-old Taisiya Kiseleva is also a defendant in the case, accused of secretly embezzling someone else's property. Two other members of the organized group, whose criminal case has been separated into separate proceedings, have been placed on the international wanted list.
Tarkhova was arrested in Samara on February 6, the day after the body fragments of the former mayor of Samara and his wife were discovered. According to investigators, the couple's murder occurred a month before the body fragments were discovered. In late February, Tarkhova confessed to the murder. She explained that she acted for selfish reasons and first poisoned her close relatives, then froze their bodies with nitrogen, and an acquaintance helped dismember them and scatter them in dumpsters. Using forged documents, Tarkhova stole property worth over 2.5 million rubles and a Toyota Rav 4.
Aha! The Toyota Rav 4 was the motive!
Investigators consider 56-year-old Svetlana Metreveli and her 25-year-old nephew, Dmitry Metreveli, accomplices in the crime. The suspect met her while traveling in Georgia. The Metrevelis allegedly advised Tarkhova and helped her dispose of the bodies.
On April 27, investigators added charges of desecration of the bodies of deceased persons to the charges against the granddaughter of the former mayor of Samara. The accused is also a defendant in a case of fraud, theft, and document forgery. In total, she is charged under eight articles of the Russian Criminal Code.