Fears over 'child-killing maniac' in Russian Far East

The charred remains of Albina Ganzei, aged nine, were found on 20 September  near the village of Krasnoyarovka in Primorsky region. She had been walking to school from her home in Lazo, but was murdered on the way, with claims she was 'burned alive'. 

Earlier, teachers and locals had taken part in a frantic search for the missing child. Her scorched body was found in long grass, and she still wore her pink shoes. Police suspect the killer may have singed his hands as he killed her. 

Albina's death is the third killing of a girl aged nine or ten in the region, and it was revealed this week that Moscow investigators have been sent to assist their local colleagues. 

This comes as media in the Far East have claimed a 'serial maniac' may be on the loose targeting children, yet for now the police are not commenting on any link between tragic cases that may also be unconnected. 

On 28 July, the body of Ksenia Gromskaya, ten, was found in a reservoir near Kirovsky village. The girl had gone for a walk a day earlier but never returned. Initial reports said a 42 year old local man had been arrested and confessed to killing her. 

It was reported her cell phone had been found in his possession. But later statements said that the unemployed man was unconnected to the murder and was 'innocent'.

On 6 March, ten year old Yaroslava Stepanova left her home in the village of Kamenka and went missing. She had earlier returned from school, completed her homework, and gone out to visit her adult brother who lived in the same village. 

She failed to reach the brother's apartment. Her body was found on 14 April in a ditch which carried water that had been drained from a local reservoir. The radius between the three crime scenes is around 100 kilometres