File of murdered Russian couple with DPP office

The distinct feature that stood out – all three finds had similar wrappings in green netting, stones to weigh down the parts and similar blue coloured fishing line that tied each wrappings together.

The Police investigation file regarding murdered Russian couple, Yuri Shipulin and Nataliya Gerasimova, has been handed to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This was confirmed yesterday by Police Commissioner BrigadierGeneral Sitiveni Qiliho. No information could be obtained on the contents of the file or the details of findings of the Police investigation. The DPP, Christopher Pryde, is out of the country and could not be reached for a comment. He is expected to return to office on Monday. Mr Shipulin and Ms Gerasimova went missing after leaving their farm at Kachiqari, off the road leading to Nausori Highlands in Nadi after midday on June 16 and the only other sightings of them was through a Police report that they were seen at Denarau having a few drinks on the same day.

Police recovered the couple’s vehicle, registration ‘PILOT’ on the evening of June 17 but the couple was missing. On June 24, through forensics findings; the first pair of feet was found, confirmed to be that of Mr Shipulin and two days later, the second pair and belonging to Ms Gerasimova was found. A decapitated head, later confirmed through DNA as that of Mr Shipulin, was found on August 3 by a New Zealand couple wrapped in the same type of netting as the pairs of feet were found previously at Natadola Beach. Two weeks ago, a Police dive team discovered what was believed to be a body part of Ms Gerasimova. The body part was severed from below the navel and just above both knees. The dive team is believed to have recovered the wrapping which contained the body part at a section of the reef, not far from where it was spotted on Friday night. A villager while night diving for fish a few days earlier came across the wrapping stuck at the bottom of the reef.

The distinct feature that stood out with all three finds were that they had similar wrappings in green netting, stones to weigh down the parts and similar blue coloured fishing line that tied the wrapping together. Edited by Rusiate Mataika