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Izhora Jane Doe was a child whose skeleton remains were found at the bottom of the Izhora River in Russia's Leningrad Oblast.
Blood, DNA and genealogy tests revealed that she was the child of a man and a woman found in the same river in 2008. The family were killed by an unidentified serial killer dubbed the "Izhora Maniac". Although not biologically related to the three, another man who was killed in April 2008, was also believed to be killed by the same killer.
Case[]
On October 9, 2021, a resident of Telman village in Russia's Leningrad Oblast was magnet fishing, trying to find coins or antiques from World War II. While fishing, the villager found a black bag that was tied shut and had a 12-kilogram kettlebell attached to it, causing it to sink to the bottom. A skull was found inside the bag, prompting the villager to call the police. The skull had been wrapped in cellophane and the rest of the skeleton was wrapped in metal wire. The police determined that the victim was a child, believed to be between the ages of 7-10, and had been at the bottom of the river for a year. The decedent's upper jaw was also deformed.
Investigators initially believed that the decedent was 6-year-old Pavel Kostyunin, who had gone missing from St. Petersburg in 2011. Although the decedent's death was ruled a homicide, no cause of death was ever determined due to the state of decomposition. Despite the heavy decomposition, the decedent's clothing remained intact, so the police shared photographs of the clothing with the public. The kettlebell and bag were sold at a number of local markets, so the police investigated as many of them as they could, but were unable to track the purchase of the items.
Pavel Kostyunin would be ruled out after the police performed genealogy, blood, and DNA tests on the decedent. The tests revealed that the decedent was female, but also that her biological parents were a man and woman found murdered in the Izhora River on August 27, 2008, who also remain unidentified.
Police looked into cases of missing couples with children reported in Russia since 2007. Despite their efforts, no leads were discovered. It is speculated that the family either lived a marginal lifestyle or were foreign to Russia, and they were later said to be murdered by a killer dubbed the "Izhora Maniac".
The Russian authorities further linked the family's death to that of a man found dead in April 2008 in the same river.
Characteristics[]
- Deformed upper jaw.
Clothing and accessories.[]
- Black shorts.
- Dark green T-shirt, with a fastening collar with an appliqué in the form of a lying bear cub on the chest on the left and a label on the inside in the neck area with the image of two panda bears and the inscription "Made in China".
- Black knitted sweater with long sleeves with a pattern made of fabric, in the form of an orange tractor with blue caterpillars and a beige stone on the chest.
- Dark brown socks.
- Dark gray wooden beads fastened together with a black rope. On one side of the rope are four beads that form a figure in the form of a triangle.
Sources[]
- Ren tv (Russian)
- Ria (Russian)
- Tosno-vestnik (Russian)
- Russian Investigative Committee: (Russian)