The key facts

  • The body of a 38-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan was found in a suitcase in Pargolovo, St. Petersburg
  • Her 15-year-old son has been detained on suspicion of murder; the case was opened under Part 1 of Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code
  • According to the investigation, the conflict occurred on November 2 over vaping

What Happened

In St. Petersburg, the body of a 38-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan was found in a suitcase. The victim's 15-year-old son has been detained on suspicion of her murder. According to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, on November 2 the teenager argued with his mother, strangled her, and hid the body. A criminal case has been opened under Part 1 of Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code ('Murder'), and the question of choosing a preventive measure for the teenager is being decided.

How the Body Was Found

The woman worked as a cleaner and had not appeared at work since November 1. On November 11, her younger sister contacted the police: the woman was not answering calls but continued corresponding via text messages, which raised the relative's suspicions. According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, the body was found in a suitcase on an ecological trail near the Yukkovsky stream in the settlement of Pargolovo, where the victim had lived with her son in a rented apartment. The suspect was detained on November 12.

Circumstances According to the Investigation and Local Media

According to the St. Petersburg outlet Fontanka, the victim was named Shakhnoza A.; she was born in Uzbekistan and lived in St. Petersburg with her son, who was in the eighth grade. According to the version of the investigation cited by local media, the conflict on November 2 arose over the use of an e-cigarette: the mother was trying to wean her son off vaping and forbade him to vape, and during the argument the teenager strangled her with shoelaces, after which he hid the body in a suitcase and left it on the outskirts of the city. During the search efforts, according to media reports, the teenager claimed that he did not know where his mother was.