Two schoolgirls have been arrested in Russia's Moscow region on suspicion of murdering a 12-year-old boy who was lured into an abandoned building and stabbed to death.
The child was reported missing by his mother on August 26 in the village of Kabanovo, located in the Orekhovo-Zuyevsky district east of the Russian capital. Search teams located his body the following day in the basement of an abandoned house bearing multiple stab wounds.
Investigators opened a criminal case following the discovery, and law enforcement agencies detained the two underage suspects shortly afterward.
According to preliminary findings by investigators, the girls planned the attack in advance. They allegedly invited the victim to meet under the pretext of drinking beer together at the deserted property.
Before meeting the boy, the suspects left their mobile phones at home to prevent location tracking and equipped themselves with knives and gloves. Once inside a room in the abandoned building, the girls launched a violent assault on the victim.
Motives Under Investigation
Local residents alleged that the girls filmed the attack on a mobile phone, though conflicting reports emerged regarding video evidence of the crime.
A source stated that the girls wished to experience what it felt like to kill a human being, adding that they wanted to watch someone die and act as executioners. However, the same source stated that no video recording of the murder was actually made.
An alternative narrative under review suggests the two classmates were involved in a romantic relationship and feared the boy, who attended the same school, would expose their connection.
Relatives Respond to Arrests
The sister of one of the detained schoolgirls expressed disbelief at the allegations, telling reporters that her sister was incapable of committing murder.
The relative noted that her sister was compassionate enough to take in a one-eyed kitten. She added that they had last spoken two days prior to the arrest, during which no mention of an attack was made.
The sister explained that the two suspects met during their ninth-grade school year and had maintained a close friendship ever since.
