Girl aged 7 sees sister raped and murdered

The bodies of the two girls were found near railway tracks on the line between Zlatoust and the city of Chelyabinsk. Police say they had been raped, strangled and stabbed. Anya Lyutykh’s seven-year-old sister Valeria was found nearby – she miraculously survived.

When police found Valeria, she was saying ‘A man killed my sister, over there in the trees!’

City authorities immediately launched a manhunt. The Governor of the Chelyabinsk region has since issued a 500,000 rouble reward for information leading to the capture of the girls’ killer. For the moment, police have only Valeria’s description of her attacker to work with.

The prosecutors’ main suspicion is that the culprit is mentally ill.

More police have been sent to help in the investigation, and school teachers have been told to warn children about the need for personal safety.

As the investigation continues, attention has turned to protecting other young children in the area.