A 64-year-old former local deputy and cultural centre director has been arrested in Chaykino, Crimea, after a missing 12-year-old girl was found buried in his backyard.
The suspect, who previously served on the district council in Dzhankoy, was remanded in custody to a pre-trial detention centre by a local court following his arrest, law enforcement authorities confirmed.
The schoolgirl had been reported missing on 7 August after she left her home on a bicycle and failed to return. Her parents raised the alarm when she did not come back, and her father went to the police to file an official missing person report.
According to investigative reports, the 12-year-old had ridden her bicycle to the man's home and asked him to purchase a canister of liquefied gas for her. Investigators believe the suspect handed the gas canister to the girl, who then inhaled its contents.
After inhaling the substance, the child lost consciousness. The suspect reportedly panicked and carried her into his house, where he attempted to resuscitate her. When she died, he dragged her body to a pit on his property and buried it to avoid punishment.
Crimean police officers subsequently located and uncovered the child's body in the backyard pit. Preliminary medical findings indicate that the girl may have died from asphyxiation caused by poisoning from an unknown substance, though no visible external signs of violent death were detected on her body.
Chaykino is a rural settlement located in the Dzhankoy district of northern Crimea. In Russian municipalities, a House of Culture operates as a publicly funded community centre that organises local social events, youth activities, and cultural programs.
Investigation and Criminal Charges
The regional main directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation told news outlet Lenta.ru that prosecutors have charged the former official under two articles of the Russian Criminal Code.
He faces charges under Article 151 for involving a minor in anti-social actions and Article 109 for causing death by negligence. The court ordered that he be held in a SIZO, a Russian pre-trial detention facility where criminal suspects are detained prior to trial.
The Investigative Committee acts as Russia's primary federal law enforcement agency responsible for investigating serious criminal offenses, including violent crimes and incidents involving minors.
Police officers encountered resistance when they arrived at the suspect's residence to execute his arrest. The 64-year-old refused to open the door, actively resisted law enforcement officers, and threatened to commit suicide before being taken into custody.
Media reports indicate that the victim had known the suspect for a long time prior to the incident. However, when interviewed by journalists from Fifth Channel, the suspect's wife declined to discuss her perspective on the events.
His wife stated that the former deputy's family possessed no information about what had happened. She added that public talk was merely gossip and advised that details regarding the investigation should be obtained from other sources.
Similar Case Reported in Kemerovo
The case in Crimea follows a separate criminal investigation in Kemerovo, an industrial city located in the Kuzbass coal-mining region of Siberia, where a 54-year-old man was detained on suspicion of murdering a 12-year-old girl.
Law enforcement authorities in Kemerovo opened formal criminal proceedings against the 54-year-old resident after he allegedly attempted to burn the child's remains to conceal evidence. Forensic experts successfully extracted his DNA profile from the scene, leading to his identification and arrest.
