Sad! Groom kills fiancée ‘with axe’ on eve of wedding day

A brutal groom has been jailed for beating his fiancée to death after inflicting 83 separate blows on the eve of their wedding.

Russian travel agent Alexander Voronin – the son of a senior ex-KGB officer – was sentenced to fourteen-and-a-half years in prison.

The semi-naked body of Marina Pankratova, 26, was found slumped on a bed with horrific wounds.

Her face was disfigured and her skull fractured by an unidentified object – possibly the blunt head of an axe – according to evidence presented to a Moscow court.

Her torso and limbs were also “covered in wounds”, some caused by punching and kicking.

After killing his bride-to-be in a three hour orgy of violence, Voronin attempted to flee abroad but was stopped due to pandemic travel restrictions.

The tragic woman’s body was later found by Voronin’s mother.

Marina had bought her wedding dress and was killed days before her big day.

Voronin, who owned a car rental company and travel agency, was held in a Moscow park after his father Nikolay persuaded him to give himself up.

The 26 year old had been seen leaving the flat he shared with his fiancée soon after she was killed.

State investigators spoke to five former girlfriends who all reported that Voronin – who maintained his innocence at the trial – had been abusive.

He tied up one woman and threatened to throw her child out of the window.

However, the accused’s father insisted his son was not the killer.

“Pay attention to the fact that most of the hits were made by a right-handed person, and Alexander is left-handed,” he said.

“I think at least two men had committed the act.”

In court, Voronin had said: “I do not remember anything”.

But the court heard a CCTV camera caught him beating the woman as they walked home and no-one else was seen entering the flat.

Relatives say the couple had dated for a long time after meeting at work and friends beleived they had a “very tender” and “loving” relationship.

“They were a nice couple. very calm and quiet,” said one neighbour.

A female neighbour said: “I’m shocked. They were a nice and intelligent couple.”

But a friend said Marina had recently complained about domestic violence to the police, but later withdrew the claim and agreed to marry Voronin.