Murderer gives emotional last words minutes before death row execution
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Metro
9 minutes ago
- Metro
Mystery over death of Ukrainian anti-organised crime chief in Benidorm pool
A former official at Ukraine's Interior Ministry has been found dead at the very same Spanish resort where a Russian military defector was murdered. Ihor Hrushevskyi, the ex-head of the anti-crime police unit, was discovered in the town of Villajoyosa, a few miles from the resort popular with British tourists for its packaged holidays. The 61-year-old was floating face-down in the communal pool – no deeper than 1.5 metres – of the Cala Alta house complex, El Español reported. Neighbours pulled him out, performing CPR, but they were unable to save him and when paramedics arrived at the scene, he was pronounced dead. While there were no obvious signs of violence, blood was coming from one ear, so foul play has not been ruled out. The incident happened in the morning of June 29, but the identity of the man was only revealed this week. It was just a few months ago that Hrushevskyi had purchased a flat in one of the blocks and he was still renovating. His death comes a little more than a year after Maksim Kuzinovm – an ex-Russian helicopter pilot, who had deserted to Ukraine – was killed there. Police found his bullet-riddled body in the underground parking garage of that same resort. A burnt-out car apparently used by his attackers was found near the scene of the crime. The 28-year-old fled Russian and landed a Mi-8 helicopter in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in August, 2023, while flying between two Russian bases. He had reportedly contacted the Ukrainian secret service to inform them of his decision to defect and they had promised him £397,000, protection for his family and new documents. More Trending A state TV report from October, in which Russian propagandists branded Kuzminov 'a traitor to the motherland', claimed that Russian intelligence operatives had received orders to assassinate him. Sergei Naryshkin, Russia's foreign intelligence chief, said at the time: 'In Russia it is customary to speak either good of the dead or nothing at all. 'This traitor and criminal became a moral corpse at the very moment when he planned his dirty and terrible crime.' Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on Hrushevskyi's death. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Girlfriend's tribute to 'inspirational' hockey player who died at Ibiza Rocks hotel MORE: First look inside Putin's secret 'death' factory where teenagers build drones MORE: Nato scrambles warplanes for 13th time in weeks after latest Putin attack
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Woman slammed after marrying millionaire farmer one day before his death
Pals of Lisa Flaherty have slammed claims from the family of Joseph Grogan, the wealthy landowner who died just hours after marrying her in Co Offaly. Friends have rallied round a woman slammed as a " gold digger" after she married a wealthy landowner, just one day before he died from cancer. Lisa Flaherty, 50, is set to inherit a 220-acre farm worth a staggering €5.5 million (£4.7 million) following the death of her husband Joseph Grogan. But an inquest last week heard that none of the 75-year-old farmer's family were at the wedding, as they didn't even know the couple were an item. Speaking after the hearing at Offaly Coroner's Court in Tullamore, Co Offaly, the Grogan family's lawyer said the proceedings had left "an awful lot of unanswered questions" and claimed the circumstances around the pensioner's death should be investigated by experts trained in probing "suspicious deaths". But despite calls for a deeper forensic investigation, the coroner ruled out any further action, reports the Mirror. Amid the fallout, Lisa's family and friends have insisted the relationship was the real deal and not about money. They say she and Mr Grogan 'were very much in love'. Lisa had become the farmer's part-time carer as he battled Stage IV Non-Hodgkin lymphoma - a type of blood cancer - after being diagnosed in 2023. Lisa, a mum-of-three from a previous marriage, moved into Joe's home in Screggan, Co Offaly. The pair got engaged and tied the knot in a quiet ceremony. Joe tragically died the following day, on April 15, 2023. "The world can think what it wants but how Lisa has been portrayed is not right. They were both wonderful people who were very well respected in this community. Lisa didn't care for Joe because she wanted his money, that's total rubbish," Joe Keys, who was one of Mr Grogan's best friends, said this week. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. And a close friend of Ms Flaherty told Mail Online: "I've known both all my life and I can promise you, they were very much in love. They were committed to each other, nobody cared for Joe like Lisa did, not even his own family. The two of them were inseparable. "She's the one who was beside him throughout his life and when he needed her most, as he was dying. She did an amazing job, and it wasn't for financial reasons, Lisa is not that sort of person. She's one of the most loving and kind people you could ever meet." While giving evidence at the inquest, Lisa said her relationship with Joe had started when she was a teenager. She became so emotional during proceedings that she had to leave the room multiple times. Mr Grogan, who had no children of his own, was embalmed within hours of his passing, making it virtually impossible to determine a definite cause of death. Others in the tiny village of Screggan, who knew the farmer, said he was very much a father figure to Ms Flaherty's son and two daughters growing up. Another friend said: "Lisa was very young when she first met Joe, but it wasn't a big deal, she was above the legal age of consent and there was nothing paedophile about his intentions. It was the start of a loving, caring relationship that continued for many years." Mr Grogan's family insist the " police need to investigate" his death. However, the coroner delivered a "narrative verdict" which is an account of the circumstances surrounding a death rather than a direct ruling as to its cause.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
'Porta Potty party model' lifts lid on ordeal after found with broken spine
Maria Kovalchuk has spoken out for the first time following her ordeal, which saw the young model found seriously injured in Dubai after going missing for more than a week. A wheelchair-bound Ukrainian model has pointed the finger at "rich Russian kids" after being found seriously injured in Dubai following her disappearance for over a week. In March, Maria Kovalchuk was discovered on a roadside amid fears she had been kidnapped into "sexual slavery". The 20-year-old, who suffered horrific injuries including a broken spine and limbs, had been in a coma after she was found close to death having "fallen from a height", reports the Mirror. Her friends feared that Maria had been a victim of a notorious Porta Potty party in Dubai - where rich men are reported to pay large sums to abuse and degrade attractive young women, including those with social media profiles. Maria - who did not speak before leaving Dubai - has now revealed she is recovering from her ordeal in Norway, where her mother lives. The model, who has a prominent scar on her forehead after undergoing multiple surgeries, denied that citizens of the United Arab Emirates were behind her torture. Instead, she pointed the finger at "rich Russian kids" who she alleges abused her after a party in a hotel. She claimed that her expensive medical treatment was paid for by the Dubai authorities. Her mother, Anna, said: "I don't know how much they paid - the sum was colossal, millions." Russian news outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti, which spoke to Maria in Norway, claimed that "in exchange, she was asked not to say anything that would cast the Emirates' authorities in a negative light." Maria said: "I mostly use a wheelchair and crutches. "I still have a leg fracture that's healing. I'm learning to walk with crutches again, but for now, the wheelchair is my main means of moving around." Recalling the incident, Maria said she had been in Dubai to get content for her job as a model when she overslept and missed her onward flight to Thailand. According to the report, she met a young man - whom she had previously met at a karaoke bar - in the lobby of the Five Jumeirah Village hotel. The 19-year-old man in question lives with his father in Dubai. The report said: "She told him her air ticket had gone to waste and she had to check out of her hotel. "[He] offered for her to stay in his room and claimed that his father could fly her to Thailand on a private jet." Maria then claimed that there was a party with the children of wealthy Russian and Ukrainian businessmen. She admitted she agreed to go with the man and his friends - hoping it would lead to a free flight to Thailand, but the atmosphere turned sour. "They started teasing me, why I wasn't drinking," she told prominent Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak at "Then some aggressive pushes like pushing in the shoulders began. After that, they started making fun of me like 'you belong to us, we will do whatever we want.' "I tried to take it as a joke, because it was really weird. They started behaving inappropriately, smashing bottles on the floor. That is, the entire floor was strewn with broken glass, that is, it was impossible to walk there. "Then they started intimidating me, smashing glass. After that, they took my personal belongings, which included my passport. And one of the girls….put on my things and just left in them, although before that I asked her not to do this, [and] to leave my things. That is, no one heard me, and she just left the hotel in my dress." This woman is now out of contact. The men "hinted" they wanted sex, she said, adding: "I did not reciprocate, and this aggression was also heating them up." The report claimed that "amid the violence, Maria tried to flee "but the young men "dragged her back into the room." It added: "When they stepped out onto the balcony, she escaped and hid at a nearby construction site." Then the men, who were "out of their minds" by this point, allegedly found her at the construction site and "beat her". "They practically tore the skin off her scalp, then threw her off a ledge onto the road," said the account. "I ran away. Then, already on the street, when I was, 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, open." Maria doesn't remember the violence itself that led to her injuries, and the CCTV footage has since been erased, she said. "Three months have passed - the police waited until the cameras were automatically wiped [after this period]. So now there's no evidence," said Maria. "Most likely, there was a blow to the head, I suppose. The next scene [that] I remember is me asking for help from a passing car, which had already stopped and called an ambulance and the police." She had fled wearing only a hotel robe. She said: "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." The men accused by Maria were both detained by police in Dubai but only for one day, said the report. It added: "They now claim in their testimonies that they tried to find and help Maria and that she had asked to come to the party herself." There appear to be no charges against them. "The next day the case was closed, they were released. And the case was closed," said Maria's mother. "The [Dubai] police investigation indicated that Maria said that she was running away from sexual violence and then went to protect her honour, her dignity, decided to commit suicide," she said. The mother claimed the statement was "falsified", adding that Maria wasn't trying to take her own life and saying she was not intoxicated. Medical tests also showed she had no alcohol in her blood, said her mother. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. 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