German-Russian Couple Charged with Murder and Kidnapping of Two Ukrainian Women and Baby

The German prosecutor’s office in Mannheim has filed charges following an investigation into the murder of two Ukrainian refugees and the kidnapping of a newborn baby in Baden-Württemberg. The prosecution announced this on Tuesday, September 3.

The prosecution has not disclosed the nationality or origins of the accused. However, German media have previously reported that the suspects are a Russian woman and a German man.

The accused in the murders are a married couple—a 44-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man. Prosecutors believe that the crime was motivated by the couple’s unfulfilled desire to have a daughter of their own. According to the investigation, by March 2023, the couple had begun planning to “kidnap a newborn baby girl and pass her off as their own.”

The investigation suggests that the couple killed 51-year-old Ukrainian refugee Maryna Stetsenko and her 27-year-old daughter Marharyta to steal the newborn baby of the latter. "To increase their chances of kidnapping the child, the 44-year-old woman joined a support group for Ukrainian refugees in Germany on Telegram. Through this group, she contacted the 27-year-old victim in January 2024 while the victim was seeking a translator for the upcoming birth of her daughter," the statement said.

Maryna Stetsenko's body was found on March 20 after a two-week search. Investigators discovered it on the shore of a lake near Gockenheim. The search began after police found her daughter Marharyta’s body on the shore of the Rhine on March 7, showing signs of violent death. It was also revealed that a newborn baby had been kidnapped.

The mother, grandmother, and child were staying in a refugee accommodation center in the Rhein-Neckar district after moving to Germany from Ukraine to escape the full-scale war waged by Russia.

Police arrested the couple on March 13 after discovering the unharmed child. The accused are currently in custody.