Antonina Sergeyeva, a 63-year-old model, was killed and dismembered after going to collect rent from her tenant, Nikolai Shapkin, 77, who was later seen pushing a trolley containing her remains
A Russian fashion model and clothes designer was killed and dismembered by a St Petersburg ‘ripper’ after a chilling phone call to emergency services.
Antonina Sergeyeva, a 63-year-old mature model was on her way to collect rent from her male tenant, Nikolai Shapkin, 77, who was living in a flat she owned when she was killed. Her tenant is alleged to have killed the Russian beauty after she gave him notice to leave the apartment in St Petersburg, Russian authorities believe. The suspect was later caught pushing a supermarket trolley containing black bags filled with her severed arm and leg, state investigators say.
The “ripper” is accused of sawing her corpse up and attempting to dispose of her remains. One bag containing human remains had been dumped in a garbage skip near the apartment.
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In a chilling twist before her death, the model had called the emergency services from her mobile phone, claiming a man was trying to kill her. An officer was sent round to the flat, but was unable to gain entry.
Neighbours had also phoned the police about screams from the address while Antonina’s family reported her missing, saying she wasn’t answering her phone. The next day, a police officer returned, where he met the suspect pushing a supermarket trolley from the one bedroom flat.
“A 77-year-old man was stopped by a district police officer on the landing of a building in Zargorodny Prospekt with a grocery cart in which fragments of a human body were found,” said the Russian Investigative Committee. “Human remains were also found in the apartment located in the same entryway where the detainee lived.”
Antonina was a well-known model who worked for the Lava fashion house. She also made vintage and steampunk clothes, living on the fashionable English Embankment in St Petersburg.
According to the Telegram channel Bad News, Antonina wanted the tenant to leave because he had trashed the flat and broken the washing machine. He promised her two months rent, and she had gone to collect this when he allegedly attacked her.
The suspect has been detained and a murder case opened. A video showed him being questioned by investigators. Antonina was married with a son.
The grisly incident comes just weeks after a man’s remains were discovered inside two suitcases with “all internal organs removed” under the Rybatsky Bridge in St Petersburg. An ice swimmer made the horrifying discovery, opening one of the suitcases found in the murky waters to reveal severed human remains.
A murder case was opened by the Russian Investigative Committee amid suspicions over the removal of internal organs from the victim, including the heart, kidneys and liver. The victim is undidentified but believed to be a male aged between 20 and 30. The motive behind the gruesome killing was unclear, with fears over human organ trafficking or even cannibalism.
One suitcase contained the torso of the victim, wrapped in polyethylene, but without any internal organs, according to reports. The second contained the head, arms and legs of the victims, with investigators saying severe bruising was found on the severed head along with wounds on the cheek and chin.
CCTV footage captured two suspects taking the suitcases, one pink, the other black, to the bridge. The Rybatsky Bridge sits at the confluence of the Neva and Slavyanka rivers in the city of St Petersburg, formerly called Leningrad, that is Vladimir Putin’s birthplace.
