The wife of a popular rapper chopped the fingertips from his dismembered body then "hid them in a yard hoping rats would eat them".
Marina Kokhal, previously named Kukhol, has been detained by Russian law enforcement on suspicion of murdering singer Andy Cartwright, 30, whose real name is Alexander Yushko.
Kokhal denies killing him but admits to emasculating his body over a four day period using a hacksaw and knife, keeping some body parts in her fridge.
The latest revelation in the case is that she took his severed fingertips and fed them to rats to prevent his body parts being identified by fingerprinting, reported Fontanka news outlet, citing what law enforcement said.
However the fingertips were found.
Kokhal “caused the death of her husband in an unidentified way” after a dispute between the pair, said the Russian Investigative Committee.
“In order to hide the traces of the crime, the accused dismembered the victim's body into separate body parts for the purpose of subsequent destruction,” the committee added.
The widow has been detained “for her own protection” from Cartwright's angry fans, according to a report citing law enforcement.
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.
Kokhal's lawyer, Irina Skurtu, strongly denied reports that her client had confessed to murder then changed her plea on legal advice.
"She categorically does not admit guilt, did not admit it, and is not going to admit it,” she said.
“The cause of her husband's death has not yet been established.
“Marina herself still declares that she did not kill, but 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.
"She does not look to me like a mad drug addict.
"She explained the situation quite coherently, but kept repeating: ‘What have I done? What have I done?’"
Kokhal called in her lawyer and the police after realising she was “morally” and “psychologically” appalled about her plan to dismember her Ukrainian-born husband’s body, said Skurtu.
The lawyer claimed that if she is telling the truth, she has committed no crime in Russian law.
Forensic tests are underway to establish the cause of death.
Investigators denied reports attributed to them that some body parts had been cleaned in the family’s washing machine.
Yet some human organs including the stomach were reported to be missing from the family flat.
Kokhal is a journalist-turned-astrologer.
She recorded videos on YouTube with titles including "Congenital aggression. Serial killers” and "When you know your husband's lover personally.”
She also acted as a business manager for her popular rapper husband, and the couple lived in a prestigious address in St Petersburg.
