A Russian model killed one month after posting that Vladimir Putin was a “psychopath” had been strangled by her ex-boyfriend, allege state prosecutors.
He stashed the corpse of Gretta Vedler, 23, in a suitcase for over a year but “confessed” to the murder and will now face imminent trial.
Dmitry Korovin, 24, will face murder, theft and fraud charges relating to her death.
He allegedly took out a £7,850 loan in her name using her banking apps after he had killed her and slept in a Moscow hotel room with her body for three nights.
He then bought a suitcase in which he put the corpse, and drove 300 miles to Lipstik region where he left it in the boot of a car for more than a year.
A video from the Russian Investigative Committee shows the handcuffed suspect demonstrating how he allegedly pushed her on the hotel bed and strangled her.
“At some point I realised her body was cold,” he said.
The model’s death garnered attention because she had predicted in advance that “psychopath” Putin would seek to “enhance the integrity of Russia" implying a land grab.
While he initially confessed almost one year ago, police continued investigating and only now have brought formal charges.
The model had made prescient postings on Putin in January 2021, one month before she was murdered.
“Given the fact that Putin went through a lot of humiliation in childhood, he could not stand up for himself due to his [slight] physical form, it is not surprising that he left after law school and joined the KGB,” she wrote.
“Such people are timid and fearful from childhood, afraid of noise and darkness, strangers, so traits such as caution, restraint, and lack of communication are developed early in their character.
“I can only assume, in my opinion, a clear psychopathy or sociopathy is seen in him.”
She told her followers: “For psychopaths, it is important to constantly experience a sense of fullness and sharpness of life, so they love risk, intense experiences, intense communication, intense activity - an intense and dynamic life.
“Maybe he really wants to enhance the integrity of Russia and sincerely wishes the good for the Russians.
“But can he really do anything?’
She made clear she had grave doubts.
“I think you know the answer to this question yourself,” she posted.
According to prosecutors, her anti-Putin posts are not related to her death.
“The defendant [Korovin] is in custody and has admitted his guilt,” said the Moscow Prosecutor's Office.
“The criminal case will be sent to the Presnensky District Court for consideration on the merits.”
The case will examine whether jealousy was a factor, but Korovin said money was his motivation.
“I wasn’t working anywhere. There was no money. That's why I decided to do this,” he told detectives.
Korovin allegedly posted pictures and messages on the model’s social media, to make friends believe she was still alive.
A male friend called Evgeniy Foster - a blogger in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian city blitzed by Russian forces - became suspicious and found a friend in Moscow to file a missing person’s case.
This triggered a search which eventually located her body.
