A Russian historian has confessed to murdering and dismembering his student lover after drunkenly falling into a river wearing a backpack containing her arms.
Oleg Sokolov, 63, was found in the icy Moika River, local media reported, suffering from hypothermia. The St Petersburg State University professor's plan was to dispose of 24-year-old Anastasia Yeshchenko's body before dressing up as his hero Napoleon and taking his own life.
"He has admitted his guilt," Sokolov's lawyer told French news agency AFP, adding that he regretted it.
He reportedly shot Yeshchenko dead during an argument, before sawing off her legs, arms and head. The rest of her body was found at his home.
Sokolov was reportedly obsessed with Napoleon, and once received France's top honours - the Légion d'Honneur - recognised for his research into French military history.
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Yeshchenko was a postgraduate history student, described as "quiet, sweet and always the ideal student" by an acquaintance to a Russian news agency.
Their relationship was no secret, and they'd often dress up together in Napoleonic clothes.
BBC News' Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford said the "papers here are full of details of this murder, the tragic and gruesome tale of a brilliant and beautiful young student shot and dismembered by her 63-year old former professor-turned-lover".
"One person described the professor as 'eccentric but not aggressive'; others claimed he considered himself Napoleon reincarnate," she wrote.
An anonymous St Petersburg State University lecturer told AFP the killing was "simply monstrous", and though Sokolov was hardworking and dedicated, he was also emotionally unstable and an alcoholic.
Napoleon led France in the early 19th century, during which he waged wars in which millions died.
Newshub.
