A Moscow court has sentenced 20-year-old student Elizaveta Mazurova to 12 and a half years in prison after she attacked a 59-year-old woman with a hammer on instructions from telephone scammers.
The Nikulinsky District Court in Moscow delivered the verdict following charges of attempted murder and robbery, the capital's prosecutor office reported to Russian news outlet Lenta.ru.
Mazurova was ordered to serve her sentence in a general regime penal colony. The court also mandated that she undergo compulsory medical treatment while serving her prison term.
Judges found her guilty of attempted murder committed by an organized group in connection with robbery under Article 30 and Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code. She was also convicted of robbery involving violence under Article 162 of the code.
Details of the attack
According to facts established by the court, Mazurova received a phone call from a handler on March 14 instructing her to attack the victim and buy weapons for the assault.
Following the instructions, the student purchased a locksmith hammer and pepper spray before traveling to the address of 59-year-old victim Galina Tikhomirova.
Upon reaching the apartment, Mazurova rang the doorbell. When Tikhomirova opened the door, Mazurova sprayed pepper spray into her face and swung the hammer at her head.
The attack was halted when the victim's husband intervened and restrained the assailant. Mazurova tried to escape from the building immediately after the struggle but was detained by police.
Handler messages and court testimony
In her final statement before the court, Mazurova claimed she was a victim of fraud by deception. She stated that telephone scammers had convinced her that Tikhomirova was a foreign agent planning a terrorist attack at a kindergarten.
The defendant explained that cruel individuals had intimidated her and manipulated her illness and trusting nature. She added that they persuaded her that she was assisting the Russian state, when in reality they were using her as an instrument of crime.
Mazurova noted that she wanted to kill Tikhomirova and jokingly sent a message to her handler stating that she was on her way to whack the grandmother. She maintained during her final address that she had been deceived by the scammers.
Russian law enforcement sources previously indicated that the student had been under the continuous influence of telephone fraudsters for an extended period prior to the violent incident.
Legal context and penal system background
The Nikulinsky District Court is a municipal court of general jurisdiction in Moscow handling criminal and civil matters within the capital's western district. Cases involving serious violent crimes committed within its territorial jurisdiction are tried by its criminal judicial panel.
Under Russian penal law, a general regime penal colony represents the standard security classification for female prisoners serving custodial sentences. Inmates in general regime facilities live in communal quarters and are required to follow structured daily schedules while engaging in institutional work programs.
Compulsory medical treatment in Russian correctional institutions is governed by provisions of the Russian Criminal Code. Courts can order compulsory psychiatric care alongside prison terms for individuals diagnosed with mental health conditions that reduce accountability without eliminating criminal responsibility.
