Father seeks life sentence for daughter's killer
The girl went missing on July 22, 2024.
Omsk greeted a 15-year-old guest from Moscow with July heat. She did not plan to stay long — just a holiday with relatives. But days later, missing-person notices were issued for her, and search teams were mobilized. The disappearance of the schoolgirl from the capital shook the Siberian city. For four days, volunteers, police, and concerned locals combed the city looking for her. They found her, but she was already dead.
The family stayed at the Nika Hotel.
Three months later, a murder suspect was detained. It seemed like the case was closed, but for a year and a half the investigation has stalled, and the girl«s father still has not received the key answer. Why did the life of a teenager who came to visit end so brutally and cynically? In this article, correspondent Anastasia Chesnokova reconstructs the chronology of the nightmare and publishes an exclusive conversation with a man who lost everything.
Nearly 300 people took part in the search.
Disappearance and search
The teenager«s body was found at the boat station.
The story that shocked Omsk in July 2024 began as an ordinary family vacation. 15-year-old Alina (name changed. — Ed.) — talented, erudite, principled (as her father describes her) — dreamed of becoming a journalist. She arrived from Moscow with her parents and two younger sisters to visit relatives in Omsk. The family stayed at the Nika Hotel, near Victory Park.
He admitted his guilt.
On July 22, the relatives went for a walk without their daughter. When she returned to the empty room, she called them to arrange a meeting. Grabbing her backpack, the teenager headed to the park. Father Sergei said: they met his daughter on a small bridge, 50 meters from the green zone, toward the Irtysh River. The schoolgirl said she wanted to walk alone.
The family had to undergo a polygraph test.
“She said: «You go, get ready. I»m already packed, I«ll take a walk.» We returned to the hotel to pack our suitcases. Then we looked — it was late. We started calling her.”
The criminal case is being reviewed in Moscow.
Alina no longer answered calls. Her phone was turned off. Her mother rushed to search the park but returned alone. She had to fly to Moscow with the younger children to leave them with grandparents. Sergei stayed in Omsk alone to search for his daughter. The next day, the mother returned.
The man continues to seek a life sentence for his daughter«s killer.
Large-scale searches began on July 23. Investigators opened a criminal case into the disappearance of the Muscovite; the prosecutor«s office became involved.
The man was detained in November 2024.
Volunteers and police combed the forest and the Irtysh River bank. Foot patrols, vehicles, and drones in the sky searched for the girl. Nearly 1,400 missing-person notices were posted around the city. Operatives seized footage from all cameras in the search area — every frame was examined in detail.
The first lead came when dogs picked up the scent from the missing girl«s belongings. The animals led to the Irtysh River. Divers were called to check the riverbed. They dove several times but found nothing.
The parents still hoped. At the time of the disappearance, Alina«s phone had 65% battery, and she had a charger with her. If she had the chance, she would have called, the father reasoned. There were thoughts that someone was holding the Muscovite.
“At the time of the disappearance, she had 65% battery on her phone. She had a charger with her. If she had the opportunity, she would have gotten in touch. She currently has no way to contact us for some reason. Either her phone broke, and she is somewhere sitting where she can«t get to people. Or for some other reason she can»t get out, someone is holding her. She has no friends or acquaintances here,” the girl«s father said.
But investigators tightened the charge — the case was reclassified as murder.
On July 25 at approximately 18:48, the Omsk police officially announced: the search was called off. Alina«s body was found near the boat station on 3rd Ostrovskaya Street — in the Irtysh River.
“Over three days, 276 people did everything possible to find Alina. The search involved volunteers from the «LizaAlert» team from Omsk and Novosibirsk regions, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, police, the Investigative Committee, volunteers of the «Dobrospas-Omsk» search-and-rescue team, and concerned locals. Foot and vehicle groups, mounted units, and unmanned aircraft were used in the search. Unfortunately, on July 25, Alina was found dead,” reported LizaAlert volunteers.
Murder or accident?
For months, the investigation remained under wraps. Social media buzzed with theories: some wrote that the teenager«s pants were stuffed with earth and her legs wrapped in duct tape. Others reassured themselves: a tragic accident. Meanwhile, Alina»s parents knocked on doors from the Prosecutor General«s Office to the Presidential Administration. They wanted one thing — the truth.
It became known on November 2, 2024.
Detained was 41-year-old Omsk resident Oleg K. He was identified by the genome left on the victim«s body. During interrogation, the killer said: that day he was fishing on the shore, and the schoolgirl approached him herself, showing interest. A conflict broke out between them. According to the investigation, he wanted to rape Alina but, facing resistance, strangled her and drowned her. The autopsy showed no sexual contact.
A lathe operator by profession, Oleg had left a bloody trail spanning nearly three decades by the time he met the 15-year-old girl. In the 1990s — a sentence for grievous bodily harm. In 2004 — a colony for rape. At that time, according to preliminary data, his victims included eight minor girls. Some he deliberately infected with venereal diseases.
In 2018, he was released. Freedom lasted less than a year: the criminal attacked a young Omsk woman at a lake in Victory Park. The court sentenced him for causing harm to health and attempted rape, but after four years he was free again. And again returned to his old ways.
Now he is in a pre-trial detention center. He admitted guilt but refused to testify. Alina«s father Sergei said at the time: the suspect killer is simply trying to shirk responsibility.
“I very much hope he doesn«t get off with a short sentence. Our family considers the investigation»s current classification of the crime as «unqualified murder» to be too lenient. Based on media information, it is obvious to us that this crime was committed either to cover up an attempted rape, or, if — as he claimed — the murder was committed without cause, that implies hooligan intent.”
In the fall of 2024, the murdered girl«s father underwent a polygraph test.
“The test result is obvious,” Sergei noted laconically. “Our family has always tried to provide information to the investigation as openly as possible.”
In the fall of 2025, the criminal case was transferred from Omsk to the central office of the Investigative Committee in Moscow. The reasons were not disclosed. But the very fact of such a decision speaks volumes.
“I hope the scoundrel is brought to justice”
The investigation is still ongoing, Alina«s father Sergei told NGS55.RU correspondent. Law enforcement has uncovered many details, but the man did not disclose them. He hopes the story will end this year.
“There is progress, I understand; a lot has been done and investigated. I hope that this year the scoundrel will be brought to justice.”
Sergei has not changed his principled position, which he voiced a year ago. He insists on a life sentence for Oleg K. And this demand, the man emphasizes, is dictated not only by personal pain.
“I believe this is a measure to protect society from such people. In the media, I come across information that such people, with a similar background, commit crimes against minors, and then they release him [from the colony]. He does it again and repeats it time after time. It turns out the only way to protect our society from such people is a life sentence. This is not even a personal but rather a public problem.”
About the most terrible thing — the tragedy itself — the father still finds it hard to speak. When asked to talk about what he has been through, he answers briefly and honestly: “Of course, it«s hard. I don»t know how to talk about it. Probably you need to experience it yourself to understand what it is.”
Alina was buried on July 28, 2024, in Moscow, near relatives. The farewell took place in a close family circle.
The editorial team extends condolences to the girl«s family and friends.
