This archive report was first published on 3 August 2020.
On August 3, 2020, Russian law enforcement detained Marina Kokhal, the wife of popular rapper Andy Cartwright, on suspicion of murdering her husband. Kokhal, a journalist-turned-astrologer, admits to dismembering her husband's body but denies killing him.
According to investigators, Kokhal caused her husband's death in an unidentified way after a dispute between the pair. To hide the traces of the crime, she dismembered the victim's body into separate parts for subsequent destruction.
Forensic tests are underway to establish the cause of death. Kokhal's lawyer, Irina Skurtu, strongly denied reports that her client had confessed to murder then changed her plea on legal advice. Skurtu stated that Kokhal categorically does not admit guilt and claims she only dismembered the body.
Kokhal said she did so because she did not want the rapper's fans to know he had died an 'inglorious' death from a drug overdose, she claimed. The lawyer said: 'The remains were kept in Alexander's room (in black bin liners) and in a fridge. The smell was only in this room. She seemed to me absolutely sane, although very nervous, but she can be understood.'
Investigators fear Cartwright's followers 'may take revenge on her for the death of their idol.' His fans have now released a video of his last song.
