Divorcee mother who unwittingly dated a paedophile child-killer returns home from work to find her daughters aged 13 and eight knifed to death
A divorcee mother who unwittingly dated a man who had prior convictions for child rape and murder returned home from work yesterday to find both her daughters knifed to death.
Police in Russia have launched a major manhunt for Vitaly Molchanov, 41, who went on the run after the killings of Yana and Elena Saprunova, aged 13 and eight.
One month ago divorcee mother Valentina Saprunova, 40, uprooted 1,600 miles with her daughters from her Siberian home to move into her new boyfriend's flat, convinced she had found true love.
She took a job at a local hospital in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region.
She came home from work on Tuesday to find both girls 'literally shredded' by a knife.
Russian police are searching for 41-year-old Vitaly Molchanov (left and right) after he went on the run following the murder of Valentina Saprunova's two daughters
According to reports, Molchanov (pictured with the mother of his victims), 41, had prior convictions for child rape and murder and was released from a long prison sentence in 2010
Saprunova's daughter Yana is pictured at a younger age. Saprunova, 40, came home from work and found her daughters 'literally shredded' by a knife
Her lover was seen fleeing from the scene on a white bicycle.
The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into a double child murder 'committed with extreme cruelty'.
The nurse had met Molchanov online via a dating app around six months ago, say Russian reports citing law enforcement.
In one posting in April, before they were together, he wrote: 'This is my girlfriend, this is very sad that we are in different cities, but I love her and we can solve all the other issues.'
But she was unaware of his past convictions for child rape and murder.
He had been released from prison in 2010 after serving a long sentence, say reports.
REN TV stated: 'Perhaps this tragedy would not have happened if Valentina, before going to live with this man with whom she had only talked on the Internet, knew an important thing: he had already served a sentence for … the rape and murder of a child.
Investigators can be seen working at the scene of the crime. Local media reported that Molchanov managed to keep his past convictions secret from Saprunova
'But Vitaly hid it from her.'
Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported: 'Vitaly carefully concealed his criminal past from his girlfriend.
'Otherwise, this woman, knowing the crimes for which her lover was sentenced, would in all probability not agree to uproot from the Omsk region to Rybinsk and with her two children to move in with him.'
Sources said that Molchanov had become angered and 'jealous' that her job involved 24 hour shifts from which she often came back late.
A neighbour said: 'This woman came to look for happiness in Rybinsk.
'I feel so sorry for her and the girls. He is a beast.
'He must be destroyed immediately.'
A meme posted in April by Molchanov, who works as an electrical cable crimper, appeared to predict the horror.
Pictured: A general view of the building where the two girls were found in Russia
It read: 'After a murder, police first of all check if the victim's spouse can be involved. And this is basically everything you need to know about this marriage.'
The man's neighbours also did not know about his earlier convictions.
The committee said: 'The most experienced investigators and criminologists from the Investigation Department are working at the scene.'
The region's most senior investigator was put in charge of the case.
A law enforcement video showed forensic specialists working at the flat where the girls were killed.