Two Russian Women Found Murdered Beneath ‘Free Pussy Riot’ Message Written in Blood

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APTN / AP

This image taken from TV footage provided by The Associated Press Television News shows a place where two women stabbed to death were found under this sign on the wall of their apartment in the central Russian city of Kazan on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012.

Two women were found murdered in an apartment in Kazan, Russia, their bodies slumped against a wall scrawled with the message, “Free Pussy Riot,” evidently written in blood. The victims, a mother, 76, and her 38-year old daughter, were found dead late last week from multiple stab wounds. The substance on the wallpaper hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it’s thought to be the victims’ own blood, reports The Moscow Times.

Russian investigators currently believe that the murders occurred during a robbery, stating that the contents of the women’s apartment was thoroughly uprooted with drawers and shelves emptied and overturned. Any correlation between the gruesome crime and the jailed political punk activists is unproven, but Russia’s state-run media outlets and government officials have started to seize on the crime as “inspired” by the punk band. Kremlin-friendly news website Vesti.ru reportedly accompanied the story of the crime with the headline “People Have Begun to Kill for Pussy Riot.” Dmitry Smirnov, a department head at the Moscow Patriarchate, said the blood of the Kazan women was “on the conscience of the so-called society” that supports Pussy Riot, according to The Moscow Times.

(MORE: Pussy Riot on Trial: The Case Against the Anti-Putin Feminist Rockers)

Nikolai Polozov, the defense attorney for the three recently-indicted political activist punk band members, called the murders “an abominable and dirty provocation,” according to RT. “I am sorry that some freaks are using Pussy Riot’s band name,” he told Interfax. Investigator Andrey Sheptitsky said in a statement that the killer “was trying to avoid suspicion” and mislead police by connecting the murder to the band’s supporters. He thought the murders were likely committed by a “psychotic or a drug addict,” the Associated Press reports.

The commotion over Pussy Riot continues to roil after three band members of the performance group were sentenced to two years in jail on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.” They were arrested and charged after performing a “punk prayer” railing against President Vladimir Putin at Moscow’s main cathedral in February. The verdict has lead to international protests and statements from musicians, including Madonna, who disagree with the sentencing. At least two Pussy Riot band members not charged in the incident have fled Russia to escape potential prosecution and persecution.

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