8-year-old raped and strangled to death by couple after she ran away from home following fight with parents
An eight-year-old Russian girl, who ran away from her home after an argument with her parents, was raped and killed after she was picked up by a married couple, authorities have revealed. The victim had run away from her parents' home in Novoaleksandrovsk on Sakhalin island, a pacific island north of Japan, earlier this week and remained missing for three days before her horrific fate was revealed, The Mirror reported. After walking out of her home, the victim was captured on CCTV footage walking alone along a busy road in the town in a bid to reach her friend's residence, shortly before she was kidnapped. She could be seen wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts.
Her sudden disappearance sparked a massive search with more than 500 people volunteering their time to find the girl. Her whereabouts remained unknown until the early hours of Friday, July 10, when a woman identified as Kristina Dvornikov, 31, told police that the girl's body was hidden near a local lake. A mother-of-two, Kristina, said she and her husband, Igor Dvornikov, 48, had picked up a girl and given her a lift in their car. However, the description for the girl did not match that of the victim's and Igor denied abducting, abusing and killing the girl. However, after further questioning, Kristina admitted to picking up the victim on their way to a beach after they had purchased liquor. She told police that her husband then drove to a remote area and ordered her out of the car because he would "attack" the eight-year-old and that she didn't object because she was afraid of him. Kristina said Igor had raped the girl before strangling her with a plastic bag on Monday, July 6, the same day that she disappeared. He then allegedly carried the body out of the car and dumped her on the shore of the lake.
The couple was detained on Thursday night and as investigators launch a murder probe, it was revealed the victim was trying to travel 20 miles to Dolinsk, a town where her family previously lived. Russian outlet Sakhalin reported that the girl wanted to leave after the argument because she received love and care at her friend's home, both of which were missing from her parents. Her mother is said to have led a "dysfunctional lifestyle" which meant that, from early childhood, the girl had to be very "independent." The victim fled her home around 10 am on Monday, July 6, and was only reported missing at 11 pm, more than 12 hours later. In the meantime, the victim knew she had to catch a bus from the station in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, so she started making her way from Novo-Aleksandrovsk to the regional center on foot. Police said that, along the way, two cars stopped to give her a ride but she refused both as men were driving the vehicles. One of them is said to have told her that he would take her to the authorities, while another gave her 150 rubles ($2) as travel money. She eventually accepted the fatal ride from Kristina and Igor, though it is still unclear why.