Teen killer stabbed girlfriend, her mother, and dog

The small Spitz barked desperately, hearing its mistress«s screams. Then the 14-year-old girl fell silent. Nine stab wounds remained on her neck and back. The killer, a 16-year-old boy she loved, left the body on the couch and frowned. The teenager was annoyed by the frightened animal»s barking, so the tiny dog died next. The third victim, his girlfriend«s mother, was still alive and did not know she had already been sentenced...

The triple murder in Ekaterinburg of a girl, her mother, and a dog shocked all of Russia in 2023, sparking a wave of discussions and demands to lower the age of criminal responsibility.

Ivan Ivanov, a forensic investigator with the regional Investigative Committee«s forensic department, was working at the Zheleznodorozhny district office in Ekaterinburg at the time. He was one of those who investigated this case. Ahead of Russian Investigator»s Day, celebrated on July 25, Ivan Yuryevich shared how the killer was caught, how the criminal behaved during interrogation, and why the boy turned into a soulless monster with a knife, for whom another«s life meant nothing. Below is his first-person account.

She begged him not to kill her

The criminal underwent a psychiatric examination, which found him sane. No drugs or alcohol were found in his blood. There may have been some deviations, but they did not prevent him from controlling his actions and understanding the consequences.

Lieutenant Colonel of Justice Ivan Ivanov has been solving murders for 14 years. He worked in the Talitsky inter-district department, Turinsk, Nizhny Tagil, and the Zheleznodorozhny district of Ekaterinburg. He handled high-profile cases, including a gang led by a high-ranking anti-drug official, a group murder in Kamensk-Uralsky in the 2000s, and many others.

Currently, as a forensic investigator, Ivan Yuryevich is a member of a joint investigative group tasked with solving crimes from past years.

During investigative actions, he remained calm. He did not cry, showed no remorse, his voice did not tremble. He coldly recounted how he killed his girlfriend, then the dog, and then the girl«s mother.

From his testimony: «I went to the kitchen for a knife, covered her with a blanket. I waited until the clock struck 00:00, then began inflicting blows to the back and neck area.»

He showed no regret. He killed her out of jealousy. The killer suspected the girl was communicating with his relative, and he became jealous of him. The relative was about 30 years old, employed, socialized, and had a family.

According to case materials, Denis and Diana (names changed) met in a mutual company and dated for about a month. According to friends, the boy was extremely jealous of her and could hit her. On the day of the murder, he came to visit her, placed her on her stomach, covered her head with a blanket, and plunged the knife.

He killed the dog, he said, because of its barking, so it would not attract neighbors« attention. And he killed the girl»s mother so she would not tell anyone. Denis hid in a closet, waited for the woman to return from work, waited until she entered one of the rooms, approached her from behind, and also inflicted multiple blows. She could not resist: he struck her in the throat and other vital areas until she showed no signs of life. Later, 15 stab wounds were counted on her body.

The crime was premeditated. When he came to visit her, he already had the intent to kill. He thought about how he would cover his tracks and deal with witnesses. And he carried out his plan to the end.

During the investigation, forensic experts studied the teenager«s social media and browser history. It turned out that a few days before the murder, he watched various true-crime stories and investigations online. He studied how killers were caught. But this knowledge did not help him.

Told a friend about the murder

After the murder, he took money he found in the apartment, a phone, and his mother«s bank card. He met with friends, told one of them about the murder, showed them the victims» phones, and suggested they steal money from the victim«s bank account. Together, they committed this crime. Their loot was just over 20,000 rubles ($220 at current rates).

Then they went to the apartment of an acquaintance. There, one of the friends called the police.

«At first, he said nothing. Then he told me he had quarreled with Diana and killed her, and then her mother. I was afraid he might kill me next or someone else, so I secretly called his brother. He then called the police. It is possible that this decision saved someone»s life,« Sergei, Denis»s accomplice in the theft, previously told E1.RU.

After that, police arrived and took the teenager to the territorial department. His friend, who did not commit the murder, got off lightly.

Poor student, thief

The girl«s mother, killed by his hands, was against their relationship from the start. Perhaps this also influenced his decision to kill her: he felt personal animosity toward the woman.

He had no father. His mother was an ordinary woman. She loved her son but could not handle him. He did not obey her, ran away from home, drank, and smoked. During investigative actions, she was very worried about her son. His older brother could not influence him either, and he lived in another city.

He had previously been prosecuted for petty theft. He studied poorly and did what he wanted.

I think a combination of factors played a role: a certain predisposition and lack of upbringing. He did what he wanted, and everything went unpunished. There was no thief or criminal romance here. Just permissiveness.

I do not rule out that if he had gotten away with this, he could have become a serial maniac. It came too easily to him. Do I feel sorry for him? What pity could there possibly be in this situation? He so cold-bloodedly killed innocent people. A minor, with her whole life ahead of her. The mother is also to be pitied; he just took and killed her.

The court sentenced him to nine and a half years; I won«t say this is a just punishment, but it is the maximum possible under the law.

Denis listened to the verdict in silence. He did not hide his face. He said he repented but did not want to elaborate on the reasons for the conflict or his actions. He only admitted he regretted it. His mother Lyudmila and brother did not attend the sentencing; only his sister was among relatives. The father of the murdered girl attended the sentencing and also remained silent.

Denis was found guilty of double murder (Part 2 of Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code). Charges related to one of his thefts and cruelty to animals were dropped due to the statute of limitations. He was also credited for time spent in a pre-trial detention center: one year in isolation counted as one and a half years in the colony. When he turns 18, he will be transferred to an adult colony.

He or his parents will also have to pay moral damages: two million rubles ($21,400 at current rates) for each victim and about 300,000 rubles ($3,200 at current rates) for property damage.

We reported what the teenager«s blood test showed. Also, read the report from the house where the double murder took place. Friends of the murdered Diana said the boy had previously raised his hand against her. All news on the topic can be found in a special section.