Lying to her friends and family, 21-year-old Maria Plenkina abandoned her child in a locked apartment and left her to die. Maria left 3-year-old Kristina alone in their flat in Kirov, Russia without informing anyone. She returned after a week during which the starving child had run out of food and tried to eat washing powder out of hunger. A court heard how Maria shut off the water, locked the apartment door, and left.

Maria had planned to go on a party spree over the Valentines' Day weekend in 2019. She left her apartment on February 13, only to return on February 20. While she was away, her child suffered a slow and painful death locked up a filthy apartment alone.

47-year-old grandmother, Irina Plenkina, had decided to greet Kristina on her birthday by visiting her and Maria. Irina made the shocking discovery that her daughter had murdered Kristina by starving her to death. The unfortunate child's body was found naked in the cold, rubbish-strewn room.

A child and a bear
3-year-old girl died of starvation as her mother left her locked in an apartment alone while she was away partying for a week. iStock

Maria was arrested for Kristina's death. During her court hearing, the court was informed that Kristina had eaten the meagre amount of sausage, chicken, and yoghurt that Maria had left her. during her interrogation, Maria could not tell the investigating team how much food she had left the child.

Once the child ran out of food, she tried to eat washing powder before starving to death.

Maria had been staying with her friend, Anastasia Kurpina. Kurpina claimed that when she asked Maria where Kristina was, she told her that a friend was taking care of her. Irina told the court that when she asked about Kristina, Maria simply told her everything was fine. The grieving grandmother stated that she would have gladly taken care of Kristina, but Maria chose to let her child suffer instead.

The Sun reported that a committee spokesperson stated that Maria has confessed she deliberately left Kristina in the locked apartment. Reports suggest that Maria showed no remorse when she was detained for her crime. Psychiatrists found her to be "sane" and "aware of her actions."

If found guilty, Maria may be sentenced to serve eight to twenty years in prison.

Russia