A student doctor has been detained in Russia with her husband, accused of dismembering their eight-month-old daughter.
The child died when father Yakov Maiboroda, 33, kicked his wife Anastasia, 23, during an alleged domestic dispute, but punched the girl instead, Russian police sources say.
The blow killed the child in their flat in the city of Rostov-on-Don, near the western border with Ukraine, it is said.
He and his wife – a pediatrician in training – then chopped up the child together using knives and an electric meat grinder, police said.
They placed the girl’s remains in 13 plastic bags and the medic called the police to say the child had been kidnapped.
Anastasia Maiboroda, 23, was a pediatrician in training accused of dismembering and hiding the body of her infant daughter in Rostov-on-Don in western Russia
Yakov Maiboroda was detained by police after allegedly dismembering his infant daughter
The Russian Commission of Inquiry said: “After determining that the child showed no signs of life, the couple took steps to conceal the body.”
“To give the appearance of not being involved in any crime, the 23-year-old mother of the dead girl subsequently reported her alleged abduction by unknown perpetrators to law enforcement authorities.”
But when state detectives arrived at their apartment, they detained the couple on suspicion of murder.
Veteran officers were shocked when they removed the electric meat grinder, knives with traces of blood and 13 bags of human remains, Baza media reported.
“The remains of the child’s body and other evidence showing their involvement in a particularly serious crime were found at their residence,” the commission’s statement said.
Neighbors said there had been “constant screaming” from the flat since the couple moved in six months ago.
They had previously been visited by social services.
“On the day of the murder, he was more violent than usual, then the noise and children’s cries abruptly stopped,” Mash media reported.
“Neighbors sensed something was up, but they couldn’t imagine that the parents were behind the wall at the time trying to get rid of the body of their murdered daughter.”
The report said: ‘Almost every day other residents listened to the abuse of the spouses and the crying of a small child.
‘In those months they were visited several times by youth inspectors.’
Criminal cases have been launched against the husband, a manager of a company that produces honey, and the wife of a pediatrician in training.
The pair were taken into custody until June 28 pending further investigation by a judge.
“In the criminal case, investigative measures are currently being taken to establish all the circumstances of the crime,” the committee said.
The Commission of Inquiry has released images of the couple from Rostov-on-Don. Anastasia Maiboroda (left, in handcuffs) is detained and taken to talk to officials
Officials took statements from Yakov (right) and his wife at the Investigative Committee of Russia
Russian investigators found the child’s body in their apartment on Platon Klyata Street
Russia has a high domestic homicide rate by international standards, and there are signs that this has been exacerbated during the war against Ukraine unleashed by Vladimir Putin.
In 2021, before the war, Time reported that as many as one in five women was a victim of domestic violence in Russia.
Four years earlier, Putin signed a law that would “partially decriminalize” domestic violence.
Under the law, domestic violence that results in “minor damage,” such as bruising, should be considered a crime punishable by a fine or up to 15 days in jail, according to The Moscow Times.
Of all the people who die each year from domestic violence, ten percent are Russian.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour toll-free domestic violence helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk.
