Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN

This Russian woman on trial for cutting up her sedated OAP husband and feeding his body parts to her dogs while he was still alive has claimed in court that one of the pooches killed him.

According to local media, Svetlana Batukova, 49, originally from Russia, maintains her innocence in the trial taking place in the eastern region of the Spanish Balearic Islands.

She is accused of killing her elderly husband – who is said to have bled to death – three months after their wedding in the small municipality of Sant Llorenc des Cardasar in the island of Majorca.

Pictures Credit: CEN

The elderly victim, identified as Horst Hans Henkels, was allegedly murdered in April 2016.

Batukova, who lived with the victim for two years before tying the knot in January 2016, told the court: “I could not kill anyone, not even an animal.”

She claimed that one of her dogs attacked the 70-year-old man in the bedroom and then living room while she fought to separate them.

Batukova said that the dog latched onto her husband’s arm and ended up stripping much of the flesh away which caused the haemorrhaging that ultimately killed him.

She said: “I was in shock, I did not know what to do. I took vodka and pills to end my life.”

The defendant also denied that she had sedated her husband before his death, adding that “he was awake” the whole time.

Reports said that the defendant’s account contradicted previous statements which Batukova justified by claiming she was in shock for months after the incident.

According to Diario de Mallorca, prosecutors are asking for a 25-year prison sentence while Batukova’s defence lawyers believe she should be acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

Prosecutors claim the defendant sedated her husband and cut pieces of his body off that she then fed to her dogs, subsequently encouraging the animals to finish him off. The cause of death was reportedly massive blood loss.

The trial is ongoing.