Ryazan Woman Spends 25 Years Proving Innocence in Neighbor's Murder

In 2000, the life of Lyubov Vizenkina from the Skopinsky District was divided into «before» and «after». She was sentenced to 10 years for the murder of fellow villager Viktor Svetushkin, but the protagonist claims she was framed. The crime, according to her, could have been committed by her former cohabitant Viktor Pchelkin.

Lyubov told YA62.RU that on the morning of the murder day, she met Svetushkin on the street. He complained that Pchelkin allegedly steals meat from him and takes it to a moonshiner at the other end of the village Sekirino.

In the evening, Lyubov Vizenkina demanded an explanation from her cohabitant, but he left to «sort it out» with Viktor Svetushkin.

«He said that wasn»t the case, and went to sort it out with Uncle Vitya. I had already peeled potatoes and put them to boil, milked the goat, but he [Viktor Pchelkin] was still missing. I went to see where he was. When I approached the house [of Svetushkin], I saw through the window that they were drinking. Okay, I turned around, went back, my little daughter was alone,« recalls Lyubov Vizenkina of that day.

A couple of minutes later, Lyubov heard the door of Svetushkin«s house slam. In the yard, she saw Viktor Pchelkin: he, according to the heroine»s version, was standing with a «finka» knife in his hand and bloodied money. With it, he later paid at a store in a neighboring village, and the local entrepreneur called the police.

While Viktor and the stunned Lyubov were walking home, he asked her to take the blame. Like, nothing would happen to her with her little daughter if she confessed. But the woman didn«t want to give up so quickly, and threats followed.

«He said: »You will [take the blame]. Otherwise, the first one I kill will be your sister, I«ll twist her head off.» As if in a fog, we reached the house, I start to undress, but he stops me, demands I get dressed. I take my daughter in my arms, and we go to my mother,« recalls Lyubov of that day.

The police arrived only the next day. Lyubov Vizenkina claims that only she was taken, and Viktor Pchelkin was not found — he was hiding in the attic. Then there were long interrogations and court proceedings. The confession, according to the Ryazan woman, was allegedly forced out of her by an investigating officer.

«He grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and slammed my head against the table — sparks flew from my eyes!» declared Lyubov.

Lyubov Vizenkina was sentenced to 10 years in a colony, but under parole she was released after 7.5 years. All those years she wrote petitions asking for the case to be reviewed, tried to prove her innocence, but it was all in vain. The resident of Skopinsky District repeated attempts after her release, and quickly stopped — the police said that Viktor Pchelkin was dead.

Only at the end of 2024 did Lyubov accidentally learn from Andrey Malakhov«s show that her former cohabitant is alive. Since then, she has been trying to rid herself of the murderer»s stigma and receives formal replies.

The full story of Lyubov Vizenkina can be found via the link.