A photographer who broke his girlfriend’s neck before burning her body has been released early from a Russian prison.
People have reacted in fury after a court in Yekaterinburg has ruled that Dmitry Loshagin, 44, should be released early and be allowed to stay at the home of his parents.
The decision to free the murderer, who broke the neck of 26-year-old Yulia Loshagina after he thought she had given him HIV, was strongly attacked by the victim’s grieving family.
State prosecutors are seeking to stop the decision and said Loshagin should serve his full sentence in prison but liberating him was welcomed by Svetlana Petrakova, the Miss Yekaterinburg beauty contest organizer.
Rita Grachyova, a campaigner for women’s rights, said the murderer should have served at least 20 years in prison.
“This person should serve a full term,” Grachyova said. She also condemned early releases and ‘soft’ sentences in domestic abuse cases in the country.
Yulia had been photographed by her husband for glamor magazines. But after an argument at a party in their penthouse in 2013, the model was never seen alive again.
According to reports, Loshagin broke her neck then burned her body. Her face and limbs were so disfigured that the body could only be identified by DNA results.
Yulia’s mother, Svetlana Ryabova, said to Channel 5 that she will join state prosecutors in appealing his early release.
“I was shocked (by the court’s decision to free him),” she expressed. “A nine-year sentence for a brutal murder way anyway too short.”
Attorney Sergey Zhorin also said: “In our opinion, the decision is illegal. Dmitry Loshagin did not admit his guilt nor repent.”
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Replaced!