logo
Ukrainian model was 'treated 'like a pet' by wealthy Russians at Dubai party before she was found with horrific injuries, mother claims as she reveals what they told cops before they were released without charge

Ukrainian model was 'treated 'like a pet' by wealthy Russians at Dubai party before she was found with horrific injuries, mother claims as she reveals what they told cops before they were released without charge

Daily Mail​6 days ago
The mother of a Ukrainian model who was found seriously injured on the side of the road in Dubai was 'treated like a pet' by jet-setting wealthy Russians, her mother has claimed.
Maria Kovalchuk, 20, had suffered a broken spine and limbs when she was discovered on a roadside back in March after going missing.
Speaking out about her terrifying ordeal for the first time in an interview which aired yesterday, she claimed she was left in a coma after attending a party with Russian 'rich kids' at a five-star hotel in Dubai.
But her alleged abusers, who have been described as 'golden youth Russians', were released after being investigated by Dubai police and have not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Her mother Anna has condemned their behaviour, saying that 'when young men have money' they have 'no boundaries'.
'They found themselves a pet, someone they could torment. Just to trigger her, watch her suffer, see her fear - almost as entertainment'.
'And then at some point, it crossed a line. That's the turning point — they went too far', her mother Anna added.
A Russian socialite Telegram channel claimed to know one of Maria's alleged abusers, and described the party as a 'get-together of rich, spoiled, disgustingly brought up jet-setter children, who traveled between London, Moscow, Ibiza, etc.'
The party goers reportedly told police they were merely seeking to 'help' Kovalchuk.
Anna - who has seen the police statements and report - said in an interview: 'The men said: "We all went looking for her together. First, we searched the floor where the hotel room was. Then we went downstairs, asked at reception, and were told she had left, so we went outside to find her".
'They also said in their statements that on the first day they were all just hanging out.
'They claimed they all knew each other, that everything was normal, everything was great, everyone was having a good time …. Then something happened with Masha [Maria].
'She started drinking alcohol. They claimed she tried to climb over to the neighbours' balcony — but in fact, she was calling for help. They dragged her back inside.'
Maria's horror unfolded when she missed a flight from Dubai to Thailand.
While checking out of her hotel, she bumped into a wealthy Russian man she had met at a karaoke bar once before.
Maria said she had believed he would fly her to Thailand on his father's private plane and had agreed to join him and his friends in his hotel room for a party.
But the gathering suddenly turned violent, she says, after two Russian men, who were fuelled by drugs and alcohol, began to abuse her and tease her.
'There were some aggressive pushes, they started to joke: 'You belong to us. We'll do whatever we want'', Maria said.
'I tried to take it as a joke, because it was really weird.
'They started behaving inappropriately, smashing bottles on the floor.
'After that, they took my personal belongings, which included my passport.'
The model added that the men had 'hinted' that they wanted to have sex with her, which she did not reciprocate.
As things escalated, Maria tried to escape but said the men ultimately dragged her back into the hotel room.
When they stepped out onto the balcony, she managed to flee and hid at a nearby construction site.
The men then found her and 'beat her', she said.
'I ran away. Then, already on the street... I didn't see them anymore, but I knew they were coming,' said Maria.
'I ran to the nearest building, just scared, and ran in, hid there. It was just an unfinished building.'
She had fled wearing only a hotel robe, after a female guest at the party allegedly slapped Maria and stole her dress.
'I think that maybe I was thrown. Or it was a beating. One of two options, the injuries looked like either a beating or a fall.'
Maria, who has undergone multiple surgeries and remains in a wheelchair, has no recollection of the violence she endured that led to her injuries, but she says the CCTV footage that captured her ordeal has been erased.
'Three months have passed - the police waited until the cameras were automatically wiped [after this period]', she claimed.
'Now there is no evidence'.
Maria has also claimed that police made it 'very difficult for her to leave Dubai, and accused cops of withholding her passport.
The two men accused by Maria were briefly detained by police in Dubai - but only for one day.
They reportedly told cops that they were only looking to 'help' Maria.
There appear to be no charges against them due to 'lack of evidence'.
Maria and her mother have also accused the police of falsifying her testimony.
Maria had been missing for eight days after telling her friends she had been invited to a party at a hotel on March 9.
On March 19, ten days after she disappeared, a battered and bloodied Maria was found dumped at a roadside in Dubai with her limbs and spine broken.
Maria was rushed to hospital and underwent three surgeries to save her life, before later receiving a fourth procedure.
The model has also denied that she was involved in a 'Porta Potty' party - as earlier reports had suggested - where sheikhs reportedly pay large sums to abuse and degrade attractive young women.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

What to know about the trial of a Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife
What to know about the trial of a Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife

The Independent

time9 minutes ago

  • The Independent

What to know about the trial of a Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife

The trial of James Craig, a Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife Angela Craig by gradually poisoning her, is winding down. Jurors have heard from some of her relatives and also women James Craig had been having affairs with, all called by prosecutors. Closing arguments are expected this week. Who was Angela Craig? Angela Craig, 43, was a mother of six children who friends and family say was devoted to her family. She was the youngest of 10 siblings herself and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Described as organized and dependable, she had taken over her mother's role as the genealogist for her birth family, an important role in their faith. Her older brother Mark Pray said she had been 'happy and positive' since she was a child. But her sister Toni Kofoed testified that her sister had confided in her about struggles she was having in her marriage. However, pushing back against defense suggestions that her sister may have killed herself, Kofoed said her sister had a 'broken heart' but not a 'broken mind.' What killed Angela Craig and how? Angela Craig died in 2023 during her third trip to the hospital in a little over a week. Toxicology tests later determined she died of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient found in over-the-counter eye drops. Early on, James Craig had purchased a variety of poisons before his wife's death and had put some in the protein shakes he made for her, according to police. During the trial, prosecutors alleged that he also gave her a dose of cyanide as she lay in her hospital bed on March 15, 2023, as doctors tried to figure out what was ailing her. She was declared brain dead soon afterward and never recovered. What does James Craig say? In a notes file later found on James Craig's phone by police, he said Angela Craig had asked him to help kill her with poison when he asked for a divorce after having affairs. In the document, which was labeled 'timeline,' Craig said that he had eventually agreed to purchase and prepare poisons for her to take, but not administer them. Craig said that he had put cyanide in some of the antibiotic capsules she had been taking and also prepared a syringe containing cyanide. According to his timeline, Craig wrote that just before she had to go to the hospital on March 15, 2023, she must have ingested a mixture containing the tetrahydrozoline, the eye drop ingredient, because she became lethargic and weak, before then taking the antibiotic laced with cyanide that he said he prepared for her. Mark Pray, who was visiting to help the Craig family because of his sister's mysterious illness, testified that he gave Angela Craig the capsules after being instructed to do so by James Craig, who was not at home. Pray said his sister bent over and couldn't hold herself up after taking the medicine. He and his wife then took her to the hospital. What do investigators and the defense say? The lead investigator, Detective Bobbi Olson, testified that James Craig's timeline account differed from statements he had made to others about what had happened, including accusing Angela Craig of setting him up to make it look like he had killed her. Craig is also charged with trying to hire a fellow jail inmate to kill Olson. The defense argues that the evidence doesn't show that James Craig poisoned and killed his wife and have seemed to suggest that Angela Craig may have taken her own life. They introduced into evidence Angela Craig's journal from the years before she died, in which she talks about the struggles in their marriage and her husband's infidelity. In one entry she wrote, 'He doesn't love me and I don't blame him.' In opening statements, one of Craig's attorneys, Ashley Whitham, repeatedly described Angela Craig as 'broken,' partly by Craig's infidelity and her desire to stay married, since they were part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Chilling moment evil killer wipes bloody nose after stabbing man, 19, to death in street brawl before he fled UK
Chilling moment evil killer wipes bloody nose after stabbing man, 19, to death in street brawl before he fled UK

The Sun

time10 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Chilling moment evil killer wipes bloody nose after stabbing man, 19, to death in street brawl before he fled UK

CHILLING footage shows the moment an evil killer wiped his bloody nose after stabbing a 19-year-old to death in a street brawl. Thomas Dures, 21, will serve a minimum of 23 years in prison after killing Matthew Daulby, following a trial at Preston Crown Court. 4 4 4 4 Daulby was knifed in the chest by Dures after two groups clashed outside Alpine Bar in Ormskirk, Lancashire, on July 29, 2023. The teenager was found with serious injuries by police, who were called to Railway Road shortly after midnight, said cops. Daulby was taken to hospital where he later died and a post-mortem examination found he was killed by a single stab wound to the chest. Dures also stabbed two other men during the altercation, before fleeing the scene after hearing the sirens of an approaching police car, jurors were told. Now, harrowing CCTV footage from the night has emerged showing a bloodied Dures walking down the road in a BOSS t-shirt and blue jacket shortly after murdering Daulby. Dures is seen to wipe blood from his face as he walks down the town centre road. Another camera then captures him quickly walking along a pavement without his blue jacket. After disposing of his jacket, he washed his face in the Railway pub before taking a taxi to home and then travelling to a friend's house at around 3am, the court heard. It was there that he apparently first learned that the brawl had resulted in serious injuries, having told jurors from the witness box: "I didn't believe it. I didn't think anyone was seriously injured, because I clearly seen everyone was able to run away." Dures, of no fixed address but formerly of Whalley Drive, Aughton, sent voice notes to his friends before leaving the area in a taxi. Dures, who eventually handed himself in at a police station in Greece after 18 months on the run, was found guilty of murder, the court heard. Man in his 30s dies after being stabbed outside casino on posh London street Jurors heard that Matthew travelled to the Ormskirk area with friends on the evening of July 29, 2023, after receiving a message in a group chat which stated that one of their friends, who was alone and on crutches, had been punched three times by Dures. This led to a confrontation near Alpine Bar on Railway Road. Prior to the fight, CCTV footage played to the jury during the trial showed Dures and his associate Henry Houghton lurking in an alleyway. Shortly afterwards, Dures is seen striding towards a group, including Daulby, brandishing a knife. Houghton struck Matthew over the head with a makeshift weapon, consisting of a rock stuffed into a sports sock, during the ensuing melee. The 19-year-old suffered damage to his skull and frontal lobe during the incident, although this injury was not fatal. However, Dures then delivered the deadly blow to the chest with a knife he had been carrying all night. Matthew managed to leave the scene of the fight but collapsed on nearby Moorgate, later being pronounced dead at Aintree Hospital in the early hours of July 30. Houghton, of Scarisbrick, was jailed last year for a minimum of 20 years for his role in Mr Daulby's murder. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows said the family had had a "long and arduous wait for justice". "Tomorrow marks two years since Matthew was unlawfully taken from them, and the Daulby family have had to wait patiently for the man responsible for delivering the fatal injury to answer for his crimes. "Thomas Dures came back to the UK with the intent of getting in the dock and telling a catalogue of lies.

Suspect in Michigan Walmart stabbings is charged with a rarely used state terrorism count
Suspect in Michigan Walmart stabbings is charged with a rarely used state terrorism count

The Independent

time39 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Suspect in Michigan Walmart stabbings is charged with a rarely used state terrorism count

A Michigan prosecutor filed a terrorism charge Monday against a man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart store. The charge has been rarely used in the state's courts since it was adopted more than 20 years ago during the national outrage over 9/11. Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg said she believes the charge fits because the weekend attack was intended to 'put fear in the entire community and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis.' But proving that could be difficult. Bradford Gille, 42, has a history of mental health problems. A judge signed an order Friday, the day before the attack, telling police to find him and take him to a hospital because he was considered a risk to himself or others. Police said they were unable to find him. Moeggenberg also filed attempted murder charges, one for each Walmart stabbing victim. A not-guilty plea was entered for Gille, and bond was set at $100,000. A look at Michigan's terrorism law: Lawmakers respond to 9/11 The Michigan Legislature in 2002 created and amended a stack of anti-terrorism laws after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington. A terrorism crime is defined as an act "intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence or affect the conduct of government or a unit of government through intimidation or coercion.' A conviction carries a sentence of up to life in prison. 'I don't see the prosecutor being able to establish this,' sad Margaret Raben, a Detroit-area lawyer who has served as president of a statewide association of defense attorneys. 'It seems to have been a random thing, and the fact that he injured 11 people doesn't make it any less random." Gille's mental health will be an issue. He'll likely be evaluated to determine if he understands the charges and can assist his lawyer. Experts will also determine if he can be held criminally responsible. In 2016, Gille was accused of smashing a cemetery vault that had not yet been covered with grass, one of many encounters with local police over many years. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, according to Emmet County court records. 'He never should have been out on the street. It was just sad,' Karl Crawford, superintendent of Greenwood Cemetery in Petoskey, Michigan, told The Associated Press. School shooter convicted of terrorism There's no dispute that a terrorism charge is rare in Michigan. Wayne County, the largest in the state, has never used it, according to Maria Miller, a spokesperson for the prosecutor. The biggest case: the 2021 Oxford High School shooting in which four students were killed and more were wounded. Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to terrorism, murder and other crimes, and is serving a life sentence. He had planned the attack. It was the first time that a school shooter was convicted of terrorism in the United States, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. 'The sheer force of destruction, violence, trauma and murder the shooter caused that day did not stop at the doorway of Oxford High School. It was carried through the doors and out into the community," McDonald said. ___ Associated Press reporter Corey Williams contributed.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store