A POPULAR beauty influencer was strangled to death by her husband who then kept her rotting corpse, a court heard.
Dmitry Zhuravlev, 33, lived with the dead body of 28-year-old Kristina Zhuravleva in their home for four days before dumping it in a forest when it began to "smell", a trial was told.
Zhuravlev, from the Sverdlovsk region, admitted to a court he killed the Russian social media personality because she “humiliated and beat” him.
He said: "I admit my guilt and repent, but I didn't want to kill her.
"We fought all the time, she beat me, humiliated me.
"I just could not restrain myself, my nerves could not stand it, my emotions surged."
He was found by experts to be sane and not under the influence of drink or drugs when he killed her.
His wife was "severely intoxicated", according to forensic analysis.
"In order to stop the argument, I began to strangle her, which led to her death."
Zhuravlev claimed: "She was often unhappy, insulted me, humiliated me, she hit me…
"Until (the row which led to her death) I never said a bad word to her, or raised my hand against her.
"I kept it to myself, I was silent, and when it was completely unbearable, I even cut my veins.
"And that day I simply could not stand it, tried to calm her down but it failed."
The body of the Russian online guru was found by a passing motorist who stopped to relieve himself in woods near a road close to Aramil, 15 miles southeast of Yekaterinburg.
Her husband had reported her missing, triggering a major search – but police then detained him because there were "reasons to suspect him", said a law enforcement source.
I just could not restrain myself, my nerves could not stand it, my emotions surged
He had also told her friends that Kristina had left him and wanted to be alone, or that she had gone to Moscow.
A former teacher, Kristina ran her own social media outlet with tens of thousands of subscribers and was a successful manager for the accounts of clients.
Elena Makhalina, a friend of the lifestyle influencer, said: "He was calm on the phone and said Kristina had left him.
"She packed her belongings and left her phone at home. She wanted to be alone, and he said going missing was usual for her."
Moscow photographer Veronika Voronina said Kristina was "a successful and very active blogger" on Instagram and other platforms.
Neighbours said they never heard arguments and the couple were "loving".
Kristina had posted that it was "my best decision in life to say yes" and marry Dmitry.
They regularly appeared together in her posts.
How you can get help
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, where you call 999 and press ‘55’ if you can’t safely speak.
- Always keep some money or a bank card on you, including change in case you need a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to move towards an exit if you are inside the house and get your phone in case you need to call for help.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other potential weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available every day from 10am-6pm or email [email protected]
SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
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