Russian beauty queen found dismembered in bags as pet dog leads police to her body

Russian beauty queen found dismembered in bags as pet dog leads police to her body Relatives raised the alarm after model Natalia Bozhuk disappeared on a walk with her pet dog Luna - police found her remains in bags weeks later in Russia A businessman has been arrested over the alleged killing of a beauty queen whose body was found in a forest. Natalia Bozhuk, 39, vanished after leaving home with her pet spaniel. Police said her partner later hid her remains in woodland. He was caught abroad after an international hunt. The killing is alleged to have taken place in July near the Romashkovo housing estate in Odintsovo in Russia’s Moscow region. Bozhuk was a model and a Mrs Russia Universe contestant. She also worked as a stylist and had just finished a course at the Ostankino television school. She went missing after an alleged row with Pavel Kozlov, 44, on July 17. The model went for a walk with her pet dog Luna. Relatives raised the alarm when she stopped answering her phone. Investigators said she died that day or the next. Her remains were found in bags left in woodland near an outbuilding on July 27. Police said the dog, which had stayed close to the spot for almost two weeks, helped lead them there. Investigators said the body had been cut up and hidden after the killing. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said a row broke out between the pair. “During the quarrel the defendant inflicted several wounds on the woman, from which she died,” she said. “After that the attacker took measures aimed at hiding the traces of the crime.” Kozlov flew from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport to Turkey and later went on to Northern Cyprus. He was detained on September 17. Turkish officers handed him to Russian police at Istanbul Airport on September 18. Volk said: “Today, at Istanbul International Airport, employees of the competent Turkish authorities handed over a citizen of our country. He was on the international wanted list for the murder of a model and participant in the contest Mrs Russia Universe. At present, he is in custody.” Kozlov faces a murder charge under Article 105 and up to 15 years in prison. Local reports said he confessed after he was brought back to Russia. The pair had met about six months earlier after she posted online that she was looking for a partner. Friends said he approached her in the street and courted her. Kozlov, who was born in Tashkent, worked in finance and set up wholesale firms. He has a five-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son.