Paedophile cannibal ‘fed victim’s brain and heart to 12-year-old girl’
Arkady Zverev accused of killing and dismembering landlord before eating body parts
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
A man accused of murdering his landlord, eating his body and feeding parts of it to a 12-year-old girl, has reportedly died awaiting trial on murder charges.
Arkady Zverev confessed to killing Alexander Popovich, his 21-year-old landlord, in April 2018.
Russian police officers said the murder suspect had died after spending four months in a coma, following an attempt to take his own life.
Zverev died in hospital while under an armed guard, according to the Daily Mail.
Police officers detained him last year after they found Mr Popovich’s body in a house in Novinka, a village in Leningrad Oblast, Russia.
The corpse had been dismembered, with the limbs and head separated from the torso, according to the International Business Times.
Mr Popvich’s head was found in a stove, next to a frying pan.
An axe was also located next to the body.
Officers detained Zverev and Valeria, the 12-year-old girl who reportedly lived with him, shortly afterwards.
Officials had expected to charge him with the rape of a minor, after he confessed to having had sex with the child.
Zeverev also admitted to killing his landlord and was charged with murder.
He later told a Russian court that he had boiled and eaten the man’s eyeball, heart and brain.
Valeria also ate the body parts. She told police officers that she had used a frying pan to cook the victim’s heart.
She said ”the brains turned out to be much more tasty,” according to the Daily Mail.
The child is currently being held at a juvenile detention facility but is too young to be charged with any crimes.
The age of criminal responsibility in Russia is 16, though this is lowered to 14 for certain serious crimes such as murder, kidnapping and rape.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.