Murderer of 24-year-old Russian beauty blogger says they 'had sex' before he stabbed her to death for mocking him
The man who allegedly murdered a Russian Instagram influencer has recounted in graphic detail how he repeatedly stabbed the beauty in a frenzied knife attack after they "had sex."
33-year-old Maxim Gareyev is currently being held in Moscow over the death of 24-year-old Ekaterina Semochkina (earlier reported as Ekaterina Karaglanova), a highly qualified doctor, Daily Mail reports.
During interrogation, the killer confessed how he left her body naked in a suitcase before fleeing her apartment in the city.
Gareyev, a Russian IT specialist holding four degrees and an MBA from Britain's Open University, claimed he stabbed her at least five times in the neck and chest with a kitchen knife just moments after engaging in sexual intercourse with her.
According to him, Semochkina repeatedly taunted him for being unable to satisfy her sexually and for not being as wealthy as her other lovers.
He said she even belittled him for his looks and lack of personality.
Gareyev claimed Semochkina was a sex worker alongside her medical profession and that he had paid her around $158 an hour for her services.
Furthermore, he told detectives he had met her only once last year for sex when she went by the name Ekaterina 'Katya' Karaglanova.
According to local reports, police are investigating whether they knew each other more closely.
Meanwhile, Semochkina's classmates revealed she had received a death threat earlier this year and was also being blackmailed over nude photos.
"First, we talked, then we had sex," Gareyev said in a video confession to the Russian Investigative Committee. "Before and during it, she made jokes, saying offensive things because I don't have as much money as her other men. And that I have no personality."
She also allegedly taunted him for failing to satisfy her sexually.
"She told me that I am nothing, that nothing will help me with my looks, no plastic [surgery], nothing….(After we had sex) she carried on making jokes about me."
When he asked for coffee, she refused, and instead told him he would have to "save money for months to come to her again."
"She taunted me about my ex who stole money from me and that I did nothing to get it back," he said
"I lost control," Gareyev continued. "I grabbed a knife in the kitchen. She half-turned and I struck her in the neck."
Semochkina then ran to the bathroom and locked the door.
"I pulled her out of the bathroom," he continued. "Her blood was dripping… Then, in the corridor, she started screaming. I covered her mouth… I stabbed her again, to her chest with a knife. She ran to the living room and started fighting me, but I was in a state that I didn't feel pain. During the fight, she fell down and I struck her twice again in the neck."
"She had convulsions and died," he concluded.
According to him, the murder was not premeditated and said he "cried" after the killing.
"I lost consciousness," he said. "I couldn't even stand on my feet. I thought that if I went to the police, that was it, my life was over."
Eventually, he "decided to clean up and hide."
Authorities later tracked and detained him at his residence after spotting him on CCTV footage leaving Semochkina's apartment.
"I want to apologize to Katya's parents, I regret a lot," Gareyev told detectives. "I'm very ashamed of myself. I don't want [my parents] to know the details."
Authorities then asked him how he was feeling.
"How am I feeling now? What do you think given I have four degrees and studied in London and earn around (£6,500) a month?" he responded. "And after that am sitting here."
Following his confession, a judge detained him for two months pending trial.
In court, the killer hid his face in his hands—not out of shame for his actions, but because he looked "bad" after not being able to groom himself properly in jail.
Ekaterina Semochkina's body was found by her landlord and parents after they raised concerns that she was missing. She had around 85,000 followers on Instagram.