Ex-stripper asks judge to rule she did not kill her millionaire husband
A FORMER exotic dancer dubbed the “black widow” wants a High Court judge to rule that she did not murder her millionaire husband.
Ukrainian-born Anna Ziuzina, 38, hopes the ruling will help her inherit a share of Barry Pring’s £2million fortune.
The former stipper believes there is a political campaign, spearheaded by Mr Pring’s family in Devon, to have her arrested and charged over his death in a hit-and-run accident in Ukraine.
They say she should inherit nothing because, as they told a coroner in January, they believe she murdered her husband.
Mr Pring, 47, was killed by a car as he tried to hail a taxi on the hard shoulder of a dual carriageway in Kiev in 2008. His wife had returned to a restaurant for a missing glove and was allegedly seen making a phone call shortly before he was killed.
The couple met online in 2006 and were married in 2007 after a four-day engagement.
Earlier this year a coroner in Exeter recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. But Ms Ziuzina, who now lives in Marbella in southern Spain and has two children by a new partner, later had the verdict quashed, arguing she was not given enough notice to attend and questioning the motives of a key witness.
She is hoping to get the High Court ruling before a new inquest is heard. IT consultant Mr Pring did not leave a will and his estate is frozen until the Ukrainian police investigation and British inquest have finished.
A legal commentator said: “It’s a high-risk strategy. If the court says she had a part in his murder then she doesn’t benefit in any way. If they say she doesn’t, she clears her name and gets to inherit.”
Ms Ziuzina has never arrested or charged.
Her lawyer said in a statement to the High Court that she wants the rare ruling on her innocence because she feels there is a politically driven threat to her liberty.
In the past, Mr Pring’s family have described Ms Ziuzina as a “gold digger” and say they feel let down by the British justice system. been