Killer Confesses: ‘She Was Beautiful Even Dead’

Icy February 1989, a standard apartment building. In one of the apartments — 24-year-old Fail and his beloved — 17-year-old Natasha. She did not know that Fail had been on the federal wanted list for two years for raping a teenage girl. And, of course, she could not even imagine that this winter evening would be the last in her life.

Several years later, in the early 1990s, the Tyumen Vedomosti newspaper published the interrogation protocol of the schoolgirl«s murderer — it was shared by the regional union of lawyers. The young man described in detail how and why he brutally killed the beauty he loved so much.

A Fateful Meeting

Fail was introduced to Natasha (name changed — Ed.) by his friends. The girl immediately liked him, charming him with her purity and determination. Around Natasha, he tried to seem better than he really was: he didn»t swear, didn«t drink. Some time later, they started dating, but secretly. Fail deliberately hid his romantic relationship from all his friends and acquaintances.

— I was afraid to reveal myself to her at first, that I was a fugitive. I couldn»t just tell her that the whole brotherhood knew me by the nickname Filya — I was afraid of losing her, — Fail began his story.

On that fateful evening, he returned home after the bathhouse. Unexpectedly, Natasha came to visit. Together they set the table: potatoes, canned food, sausage, and a bottle of vodka. They ate, drank, watched TV, and talked about various things: movies, music. They always usually talked about something abstract, but here suddenly, already slightly drunk, Fail declared that he wanted to poison himself: he was so fed up with everything.

— She jumped up, shouted: ‘What are you, a fool! Stop talking like that!’ First, she seemed to try to hit me, then she sank down, pressed against my legs. <…> I suggested she go home, but she refused, said she would stay. We cleared the table, washed the dishes. I made the bed. We lay for a long time, cuddling. We felt very good. By the way, I always controlled myself so she wouldn«t get pregnant. <…> I wanted to marry her, take her surname. But it didn»t come to that, — continued Fail-Filya.

“Testing” Feelings and a Strange Request

That very evening, Fail suddenly decided to check if Natasha really loved him as she said, or if it was all just empty words. And he asked her a very provocative question, to which she gave an unexpected answer for him.

— I asked: ‘Natasha, what if I were suddenly a criminal, and I was wanted?’ I wanted to see her reaction. She says: ‘I would then be a criminal too and be with you.’ This made me so happy! After that, she became dearer to me than my own mother. Well done, — the man continued.

The next morning, when Natasha asked if Filya still planned to end his life, he answered positively — as a joke. And she believed it.

— She often cried in general. Apparently, she was worried about me, guessed that I had something heavy on my soul. She said: ‘Well, if so, then let«s die together. Kill me too.’ I realized that the girl wasn»t joking, — continued Fail.

Together they drank several shots of vodka, lay on the unfolded sofa. After intimacy, they dressed. They talked about reincarnation, the afterlife.

— I leaned over her, started kissing. She was already prepared for death. I took a belt from the hanger. I asked: ‘Are you ready?’ — ‘Ready.’ I started strangling her, but the belt broke. She coughed. Started gasping for air. I lay on her, started kissing: ‘Natasha, dear, forgive me…’. I look, and there are tears in her eyes. Well, I calmed her down. Took another belt. This one was stronger. I listened — the heart wasn«t beating. Started shaking her. No, she died, — Fail continued to recount the events of that day minute by minute.

Axe, Puddles of Blood, and Unwanted Gold

Realizing that something irreparable had happened, Fail was terribly frightened. He decided to try to hide the evidence, drinking before that — for courage.

— I decided that the corpse needed to be chopped into pieces: it would be easier to hide. I said goodbye to her. And she was like alive, only a red ‘seam’ from the belt remained on her neck. <…> I kissed her, dead, undressed her to the waist, took off the gold. She was still warm. I dragged her out to the veranda. And it all seems like she will stand up and come back in, — Fail said.

Taking an axe, he swung and struck several times in a row. The head rolled away.

— I picked it up, held it in my hands, stroked her hair, I myself was crying. A lump in my throat. And she was so beautiful even dead! Like alive. I put the head aside, lifted the body to its feet and held it so the blood would drain. Then I laid the body down, stroked it for the last time, and started chopping. After putting everything in plastic bags, I cleaned up, in case someone came. I loaded everything onto a sled and took [to the river]. I buried the body not far in the snow, and took the head and hands farther away. Probably, when the ice melted in spring, everything floated away… — the murderer continued to tell.

Returning home, he cried all evening, and in the morning woke up with a swollen face. He went out to wander the streets aimlessly, and it seemed to him that all passers-by were looking at him with great suspicion — as if they knew what he had done.

— Then I burned her things, only asked acquaintances to sell the mink hat, gold, and boots. And then I left. How bad I felt without her! <…> I didn»t kill myself because I didn«t get poison. I wanted it quick and painless, so as not to mutilate myself. <…> I was good with her. And I will never forget her… — Fail concluded.

For raping a teenage girl (in Bashkiria) and murdering Natasha K., Fail S. received 15 years in a colony.

You can find other stories about our city in past decades in our section ‘History of Tyumen’. For example, there we told you about a crime that shocked the whole city with its cruelty and why the cafe of the failed Tyumen governor disappeared.

And also shared with you the story of the brutal murder of Mishka Millionshchik and his teenage friends and tried to find out who killed and dismembered a small defenseless girl in Tyumen.