DNA confirms body parts from missing Russians

FIJI – A human head was found at Fiji’s Natadola Beach yesterday wrapped in the same type of netting as the pairs of feet discovered at the same location last week.

The head was found by New Zealand tourist couple who were swimming not far from shore and almost directly in front of the spot where the vehicle belonging to murdered Russians, Yuri Shipulin and Natalia was found last month.

Much like the human feet found last week, the decapitated head was found within green netting, had stones to weigh it down and was fastened together by fishing line.

Fiji police say they can now confirm that the Russian couple who were reported missing last month were killed and their bodies dismembered.

Since the disappearance of the Shipulins, several body parts have been found washed up on the popular Natadola beach.

Among the grim discoveries were two pairs of severed feet wrapped up in netting that had been weighed down with stones.

Assistant Commissioner Luke Navela told the ABC’s Pacific Beat local DNA tests have confirmed the body parts found on the beach last week are those of the Shipulins.

“We have tested the DNA at our forensics facilities here and they matched the similarities of the missing persons,” he said.

“We have now confirmed that they are the ones whose body parts were found. We’re still waiting for the Interpol test but we have tested it on our own.”

Material has been sent via Interpol to Russia for comparison with DNA tests from the couple’s relatives.

Navela said police divers are now scouring Natadola bay in the hope of recovering more body parts.

“Our investigators are walking the same area to get as much information as possible to lead us to solve this case,” he said.

The Fiji Times reported that the couple moved to Fiji in 2011 and were leasing the farm and operating a photography business.

A friend, fellow Russian Alla Mallerich, described the pair as “soul mates”.

“Yuri was a happy, easy going man who loved life, loved Fiji and he had plans to build his life in Fiji,” she told the newspaper.

Social media pictures show a number of photos of the happy middle-aged couple having fun while drinking cocktails and beers in the Fijian sun.

However, their business partner Andrew Luzanenko told the Fiji Sun in the days after their disappearance that they had financial difficulties after the farm was devastated by Cyclone Winston earlier this year.

Luzanenko, who also lived at the farm after moving from Russia earlier this year to co-manage it, said the couple left “without even speaking to me”. - ABC