A man is standing trial for rape and murder after he allegedly beat up, sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed a young mum-of-one who was going to a river to kayak.
The primary defendant has been named as Alexei Yeremeev, 43, and he stands accused of having raped and murdered Anastasia Pykhteeva, 35, after she travelled to the Sverdlovsk Oblast region in Russia’s Ural Mountains to kayak solo down the River Chusovaya.
His partner and co-defendant, who has been named as Olga Vaseva, age not reported, is believed to have been his accomplice in the alleged crimes.
Anastasia was reportedly an experienced traveller who had gone hiking regularly since she was 18. A relative reportedly said that she had travelled all over the Ural Mountains in recent years. She especially enjoyed exploring caves and discovering abandoned villages.
She usually travelled as part of a tour group. However, this time she went alone. She left her son Vitya with her mother and reportedly told her she would pick him up after two days. However, she never returned.
Yeremeev had reportedly noticed Anastasia’s tent on the evening of 30th May 2021. He and Vaseva are said to have managed to gain the young woman’s trust, but in the middle of the night, they allegedly woke up and claimed her kayak had been stolen.
But this was allegedly a ruse to get her out into an open space, upon which Anastasia was allegedly held down by Vaseva while Yeremeev allegedly meted out at least nine blows to her head and at least 51 blows to her upper body and limbs with a wooden pole.
She was then partially strangled before allegedly being raped by the man.
Anastasia was finally stabbed six times in the neck and head – causing her death.
The couple then allegedly lived in her tent for a few days, using the victim’s bank card to buy items including food and alcohol from the shops.
They were arrested in the Oleni Ruchi natural park after investigators tracked them down using the victim’s bank statements.
Anastasia’s body was found the following day. She hailed from the neighbouring region of Perm Krai and leaves behind a three-year-old son.
In addition to rape and murder, Yeremeev is also charged with robbery, theft and ‘other acts of a sexual nature’.
He also stands accused of having left his residence without permission, having recently been released from prison, where he had served time for rape, theft, robbery and possession of ammunition, with conditions.
He faces a life sentence.
It is currently unclear how many years behind bars his alleged accomplice faces.
