Kristina Novitskaya: Interpreter's body found handcuffed with plastic bag over head in apartment locked from inside
A Ukrainian interpreter, Kristina Novitskaya, 30, was found dead with her hands cuffed behind her back and a plastic bag over her head inside her apartment in Turkey. The gruesome sight was seen at her home at the Bodrum resort on Saturday, January 2. It has been reported that she had died a few days earlier. What's even puzzling about Kristina's death is that her apartment appeared to be locked from inside with all the windows secured.
Local police suggested were looking at the death from a suicide point of view, Turkish reports say. However, Kristina's friends are not convinced and are concerned that the police have been covering up "for someone important". A friend spoke to a local media outlet in Kyiv, Ukraine, "We do not believe that she committed suicide."
Kristina's body had been found on January 2, after her family called the police since they were unable to reach her for several days. As per the Turkish police, there had been no trace of a fight and the key for the house had been in the keyhole. Her friends shared that their "life-loving" and had been "cheerful" friend had been very "secretive" regarding her private life in Turkey where she had been staying. Kristina reportedly spoke Turkish fluently and worked as a professional interpreter and a dance instructor.
The reports state that Turkish police believe she may have given in to depression caused by being out of work from the raging Covid-19 pandemic, however, authorities have been unable to pinpoint the exact cause of her death. Kristina's body was sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy and the results have not been released yet.
A friend from her student days remembers her as "An incredibly kind, open-hearted, sweet person who would never get into a conflict and always helped others. She was quite secretive about her private life. Everyone who knew Kristina is deeply shocked. We do not believe that she committed suicide." Another friend added, "True she didn’t post about her love life on social media, but she was always so open, so full of life and happy." Her pals have also slammed police reports as "strange" and hinted at an elite associate in Turkey but did not provide any further details. It is reported that Kristina's mother was traveling from Turkey to Kyiv when her daughter died.
One friend decried the police's version of her being depressed or out of job, "This is a strange version indeed. Kristina had family, and her mother is in Kiev. There was always another route to take which was to return home. Turkey had quite a spell of lively times when tourists returned in summer, Kristina would have found a job. I don't believe in these versions. I think they are trying to cover up for someone important." The authorities had reported that CCTV cameras did not show that anyone had visited the home. The last CCTV activity had been a food delivery on New Year's Eve after which there has been no movement on the surveillance cameras.