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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Will Stewart & Benjamin Lynch

Man kills his new wife on their wedding day in front of horrified crowd of guests

A groom has been jailed for 18 years for killing his wife in front of guests on their wedding day.

Stepan Dolgikh, 25, murdered his wife by beating her to death when he began to believe she was cheating on him.

The body of Oksana Poludentseva, 36, was then dumped into a ravine by her drunk husband in October during the "jealous rage".

He had turned on her during a wedding party at a private house and guests were reportedly too scared to intervene in the situation, but alerted police to the shocking incident in the Siberian village of Prokudskoye.

Chief investigator Kirill Petrushin said: "He began to punch and kick her outside the house. He grabbed her by the hair, hit her, pushed her out into the street, where he also continued to strike her body and head."

The pair said their vows mere hours before the murder (social media/ East2west News)
Guests were reportedly too scared to intervene (social media/ East2west News)

Dolgikh already had a previous conviction for murder, but was befriended by Oksna when he was in jail.

It is believed the Oksana felt she could help to reform the already convicted robber and murderer and a friend said "She truly loved him, and was waiting for release."

The incident was mere hours after the couple had exchanged vows at their wedding and Dolgikh confessed to the killing when he was detained by the Russian National Guard.

Petrushin said: "He beat her for a long time, in front of witnesses, and struck her vital organs - in the torso and head. He fully admitted guilt during the investigation.

Dolgikh was sentenced to 18 years in a strict penal colony (IC Novosiborsk region/ East2west News)

"As for repentance.... I cannot comment. I personally do not believe he repented. 'In a state of alcoholic intoxication, due to jealousy, he developed a hostile attitude towards his wife.

"He was jealous of one of the guests. It seemed to her husband that she behaved incorrectly, which caused a scandal."

Cases of domestic violence in Russia is a serious problem and in 2018, it was recorded that 5,000 women in Russia were killed at the hands of their abusers that year alone.

Activists claimed in 2021 that 16.5 million women in Russia suffered domestic violence every year before the pandemic.

Russia decriminalised first-instance domestic battery in 2017, which means that any case that does not end up with a person in a hospital is classed only as an administrative offence and not a crime.

Russia said it believes it has adequate legislation already (social media/ East2west News)
Dolgikh already had a previous conviction for murder (social media/ East2west News)

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has called the country's laws on domestic violence a "failure".

They said: "Women in Russia are in a situation of de-facto discrimination."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in December last year: "We believe current legislation provides all necessary tools to combat this evil and law enforcement agencies are making efforts.

"Of course, unfortunate and tragic incidents do occur," he said, adding: "I don't want to comment on the decision of the court."

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