A grave discovery horrifies Russia | Forensic Files

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[Music] listeners on Wednesday November 2 2011 a group of anti-terrorism police officers
from the Russian region of Nish novarad approached an apartment they weren't there to make an
arrest instead they were visiting for research purposes the apartment was home to a
semi- famous historian whose expert opinion was being sought for a case they were working
on the officers knocked on the apartment door and were LED in by the historian upon entering the small
residence the officers were immediately struck by its chaotic state every single surface including the
floor was cluttered with enormous stacks of books files and papers bags filled with what appeared to
be women's and girls clothing were strewn about the there were so many belongings scattered everywhere that
officers struggled to move through the rooms without knocking things over as they looked around at the mess
their eyes began to adjust and they could make out specific items dotted throughout the apartment
were a number of dolls these weren't store-bought Mass manufactured toys but crude seemingly
homemade and life-sized several were lying on the floor or across table others were propped on top of dresses
and wedged into kns the dolls were covered from head to toe dressed in an array of mismatched
old clothing one wore thick stockings a skirt and a bright pink ski jacket another was in what appeared to be a red
tutu a third doll wore a purple dress stockings and a bonnet and had been positioned on a chair with its legs
crossed all of their faces were WRA wrapped in bandages stockings or wax type plaster some had buttons for eyes
and facial features drawn on with paint or makeup While others were left faceless as an officer leaned into to
more closely inspect one of the Dolls a shocking realization dawned on him another officer reached out and
touched it suddenly a sound filled the room it was a well-known Russian nursery rhyme the bear really loves
honey somehow the music was coming from inside the doll [Music] [Music] [Music] in 1992 at the age of 20 Natalia Chim
mova was expecting her first child Natalia and her husband eigor lived in the capital of n novarad the
Russian city known locally as nni located about 400 km east of Moscow n was a vibrant City with beautiful
architecture postcard scenery and a rich culture it seems like a good place to raise a
child that same year Natalia and eigor welcomed their baby a little girl who they named
Olga the couple doted on Olga and she grew into an affectionate and happy child Olga loved expressing herself
through fashion taking particular Delight in wearing dresses and accessorizing her outfits with the
jewelry and Handbags she often adorned her long blonde hair with bows or hair clips
the chardi mova family lived in a modest flat both Natalia and Eagle worked day jobs so when Olga wasn't at school she
was often cared for by her grandmother who lived close by in a neighboring apartment
block by the spring of 2002 the now 10-year-old Olga was confident determined and eager for some
Independence one morning as Natalia and eor prepared to take her to her grandmothers Olga announced I'm 10
already I can go myself despite Olga's insistence that she was ready to make the short walk by
herself Natalia and eigor weren't keen on the idea but Olga was adamant so reluctantly they
agreed Olga swung her favorite green handbag over her shoulder collected her blue umbrella and skipped out the
[Music] door it should have only taken Olga a few minutes to reach her grandmother's
home but as the minutes ticked by she failed to show as more time passed with no sign of
the little girl Olga's family quickly realized that something must have happened to her and called the
police officers scoured the neighborhood trying to find anyone who had seen the 10-year-old they came across a local man
who had a drug problem and took him in for questioning it wasn't long before he began to talk
the man had been loitering in the Foy of Olga's family's apartment block when he
spotted the 10-year-old coming down the stairs he moved in front of Olga intentionally blocking her path so she
couldn't exit the building he then forced her upstairs to the top floor and demanded she hand over her
earrings he planned to sell them to a local porn shop for some Quick Cash the man told the officers that Olga
had tried to run away he didn't want her to report him so before she could Escape
he grabbed a metal bar raised it high and brought it down hard on her [Music] head despite his confession the man
couldn't or wouldn't tell the police what he had done with Olga's body officers interrogated him endlessly and
searched the apartment block and its surrounds to no avail Olga's parents were consumed by
grief and guilt and without Olga's body they were unable to lay her to rest 5 months went by with no further
developments then one day in Autumn a Grizzly Discovery was made in the Attic of the apartment block where Olga had
lived human remains were found wedged between some pipes there the size and structure indicated they belonged to a
prepubescent girl one side of the skull was fractured consistent with being beaten over the
head with a blunt object beside the remains were a green handbag and a blue umbrella on Wednesday October 2 2002
Natalia and eagor buried their daughter in the crash NAA atna Cemetery in n's leninski
District they placed a temporary marker on top of her grave until the ground beneath settled and they could afford a
proper headstone Natalia and eigor visited V's grave site regularly and maintained it
lovingly they laid a fresh wreath of flowers when the old one began to wilt after about 7 months Natalia and
eigor added a small metal fence around the border of the grave and painted it themselves on Thursday May 8th 2003 the
couple went to the site to finish painting the fence as they approached Olga's grave both were struck with an
odd feeling that something thing wasn't right they soon realized why someone had
moved the wreath on Olga's grave this interference left Natalia and eigor upset after their next few visits
proceeded with no further issues Natalia and Eagle put the incident out of their
mind but then one day at the end of the month they discovered something even more
troubling someone had left a hand written note on top of Olga's grave it was directed at Olga addressing her as
little lady the author had not left their name instead signing off with the letters da
meaning kind Angel Natalia and eigor were appalled by June 2003 Natalia and eigor
had finally saved enough money to buy a proper headstone when they visited their
daughter a week after it was in installed they saw something stuck to the new headstone it was another
note this one was addressed to them it read if you don't erect a great Monument which she deserves we will dig her body
out unable to afford this demand Natalia and Eagle had no choice but to ignore it
the next time they visited Olga's grave The Headstone had been smashed to pieces
Natalia and Eagle reported the notes and the vandalized headstone to the police the officers were sympathetic but said
there was nothing they could do such vandalism was a common occurrence in fact every week in cemeteries all across
the city at least a few Graves were reported as being damaged vandals broke headstones stole
toys and flowers and scribbled graffiti then had even been several reports of grave sites where the bones
of those buried had been dug up and left scattered around NY police occasionally patrolled
the cemeteries as part of their wider City rounds but they hadn't ever caught anyone in the
ACT Natalia and Eagle replaced the destroyed headstone with a small metal cross it was soon bent out of
shape a few months later in early September Natalia and eigor discovered another note on Olga's grave it wished
Olga well for the new school year once again the author had signed off as kind Angel the end of the school year saw
another note appear which read little lady we congratulate you on finishing the sixth grade keep growing as a kind
smart pretty girl we are very proud of you years pass and the notes continued they were left in recognition
of public holidays and other special occasions on every New Year's Day Natalia and Eagle found stuffed toys and
other decorations adorning their daughter's grave each time they visited the cemetery they were fearful of what they
would find the notes were all written as though Olga was still alive and the harassment made it impossible for
Natalia and eigor to process their grief over time it put such a strain on their
marriage that the two separated Natalia moved in with her mother while Igor remained in their
apartment he couldn't bear to leave the place that carried so many memories of [Music]
vulgar in early September 2009 a homeless man was walking through a cemetery about 200 km Southwest of Nishi
when he encountered another man crating the grave of a little girl in order to stop the Vandal he
grabbed a nearby shovel and hit him across one of his hands the Vandal quickly fled a few days later on Saturday
September 12th at a cemetery in a neighboring Village it was discovered that another young girl's grave had been
Disturbed her family had heard about the previous desecration and believed the same person must be
responsible they decided to go go searching for the culprit and found a local man aged in his 50s with a hand
injury his name was mle sharov and he was promptly arrested by the police upon digging into sharov's
background the police discovered that about 4 months earlier he had been caught trying to exume the bodies of
young soldiers an intoxicated shov who was ex-military had been screaming that he
should be the one in the ground not them after that incident shov was detained in
a psychiatric hospital for treatment he had only recently been released mik sharov was found
responsible for desecrating the graves of the two young girls in February 2010 a few months after his arrest he was
once again sent for mandatory psychiatric treatment given his pattern of behavior
police wondered whether shov might be behind more than just these two crimes over the last few years there had
been a troubling uptick in Cemetery disturbances throughout the region mostly involving the grave sides of
young girls Natalia and deor Chim mova had not been alone in their torment dozens of other families had
found similar notes on their daughter's Graves after sharov's arrest police compared his handwriting to these
notes it closed ly matched the mall mik sharov's capture and detention didn't Garner much
attention the matter was of no interest to most news outlets and was overshadowed by another event that had
occurred only a week or so earlier on the evening of Monday January 24 2011 moscow's domovo International
Airport was a buzz hundreds of people were greeted by loved ones as they passed through the
airport arrivals Hall then suddenly at about 6:30 p.m. a man's voice cried out I'll kill you all before an immense
explosion ripped through the crowd 37 people were killed and nearly 100 people were
injured hours after the blast reports came in that amongst the wreckage police had found the head of a 30 something man
of Middle Eastern appearance authorities announced that the man had set off a device packed with
7 kg of explosives it was believed that the perpetrator belonged to a group of militant islamists from Russia's North
Caucasus region who' orchestrated the airport attack only days after the bombing
several Graves belonging to Muslim women were vandalized in cemeteries across Nish authorities were quick to assume
that this was retaliation for the terrorist attack but they noted that the nature of the vandalism was very
specific all of the targeted Graves featured images of the deceased women whether in photographs left at the site
or chiseled Into The Headstone somebody had covered the faces with newspapers and then painted over
them with green paint black paint was smeared over their names on the graves epets over the next few months more of
these Graves were damaged in the same way in nearly every Cemetery in Nishi law enforcement soon developed a
different Theory as to who was behind the vandalism according to Muslim burial principles it is forbidden to include
the name or image of the deceased person on their gravestone perhaps some Islamic
fundamentalists were attempting to strictly enforce the rules of their faith whoever was responsible the
escalating attacks were believed to pose a national security concern a special task force from the N Region's
anti-terrorism unit was established to bring the situation under control every night teams of officers
were dispatched to patrol the city's cemeteries despite working the case for months the task force couldn't make any
Headway by the time more than 150 Muslim Graves had been targeted they decided it
was time to consult a specialist [Music] 45-year-old Anatoli Mosin was something
of a minor celebrity in N he was a well-respected historian lecturer and published author and was fluent in 13
languages though he identified as Pagan Mosin took an intellectual and professional interest in a broad range
of faiths and religions this underpinned MOS true passion which was the study of
cemeteries and burial practices he'd studied more than 750 cemeteries across Russia compiling an
extensive index of around 10,000 Graves over the years he had assisted many families in searching for their
ancestors the task force believed that if anyone could provide inside into the Muslim grave desecrations Anatoli Mosin
could osin lived in an apartment on lenon Avenue in N leninski District on Wednesday November 2 2011 officers from
the anti-terrorism task force knocked on the door and were greeted by Mosin who invited them
inside Mosin shared the apartment with his elderly parents but it was difficult to see how three people could live in
such a place every single surface including the floor was cluttered with books files papers and bags of what
appeared to be women's and girls clothing amongst the mess was a number of crude and apparently homemade
life-sized dolls dressed in mismatched clothing with either blank or makeup covered
masks they were spotted on the floor spraw across tables propped on top of dresses and squeezed into
Corners one officer leaned in for a closer inspection and realized ized he wasn't looking at a doll at all it was a
mummified human corpse when another officer touched the body the sound of a well-known
children's nursery rhyme somehow began to emanate from it the officers were nervous to handle
the human dolls just as the first had emanated music others would somehow speak to them
upon being touched one corpse cried out the word mom while another emitted animal
growling sounds an examination of the corpses revealed music boxes in their chest
cavities in fact something had been placed in the chest cavity of nearly every corpse some contained random
household items such as soap or a pair of tights one had a stuffed toy heart another held a real dried human heart a
piece of gravestone was discovered in one human doll which which gave investigators the deceased girl's name
another contained a hospital tag with the victim's cause of death and the date she
died in total officers discovered 26 human dolls in anat mosin's apartment in the
garage anat Mosin was arrested and taken away for questioning to investigate his
surprise he was more than willing to talk Mosin started by telling the officers about his first experience with the
dad when he was 12 years old Mosin was participating in a waste paper collection exercise organized by his
school he and some other students were picking up papers along a street when they passed by a funeral home its front
door was open and Mosin could see an open casket inside he knew whose funeral service was
being held a few days earlier an 11-year-old girl from a neighboring school had been
electrocuted her name was Natasha Mosin recalled that all of the funeral attendees were dressed in black
holding candles and singing a mournful song in an unfamiliar language there were only adults at the
service no children from Natasha's school mosan and his peers were spotted by some of the men attending the service
for for some reason the men began to chase the children Mosin recalled running away in
fear but he was grabbed by one of the men and dragged inside the funeral home a woman stepped
forward she was in tears and holding a large Apple Mosin assumed she was Natasha's
mother the woman handed Mosin the apple and pushed him toward the open casket when Mosin was standing right
beside an Natasha's body the woman told him to kiss Natasha on the forehead Mosin refused and started to
cry someone put their hand on the back of his head and pushed it down he felt he had no choice but to
kiss the dead Natasha he was made to do this three times Mosin was then handed two copper
Rings he was instructed to place one on Natasha's finger and one on his own while repeating an old Russian
phrase Mosin was then escorted along with all of the others to the cemetry there he watched as they lowered
Natasha's coffin into the ground Natasha's mother threw some dirt on top of the coffin and motioned for
Mosin to do the same after the burial they handed him some fruit and a little bit of
cash as soon as they let go of him Mosin ran Mosin threw the fruit away but bought
some books with the money while he didn't understand exactly what had happened he couldn't shake the feeling
that Natasha's funeral had also been a [Music] wedding that childhood experience
sparked anatol mosin's lifelong fascination with burials and funeral RS it was during his later studies of this
subject that he leared of several cultures that practiced the art of resurrecting the
dead Mosin insisted that his interest in the deceased girls was in no way sexual
it was paternal for a long time Mosin had wanted to become a father he told officers that nearly 10 years earlier in
2003 he had applied to adopt a girl from a local orphanage neither of his parents had
supported his application and the assessors finding that Mosin was too financially unstable rejected his
application upon learning of his rejection Mosin grew upset he decided to calm his nerves by
taking a walk through one of his favorite cemeteries crash Nia retar during his stroll he noticed the
unassuming grave of a 10-year-old girl adorned with a wreath of flowers and framed by a small metal
fence at that moment he made a decision [Music] Vision the following night of Friday May
9 Mosin returned to the girl's grave using a chisel he began carefully clearing away the dirt on the top of the
Grave after some time he reached the coffin he dug the Chisel into the wood of the coffin's lid and began to create
a large hole he reached down into the coffin and dragged the girl's body out through the hole
her corpse was already substantially decomposed and covered in maggots Mosin brushed them off to better see her
burial outfit she was wearing a white blouse and a black skirt with tights and shoes
her long blonde hair was still intact Mosin swept all of the dirt back on top of the coffin so that the grave
looked undisturbed he then carefully wrapped the girl's remains and hid them in a
different part of the cemetery Mosin returned home and began to create a workshop space in his
building's basement days later he went back to the cemetery to retrieve the girl's body and
took her home there he mixed together a specific combination of soda and salt then placed
the girl's remains in the mix his goal was to dry the corpse out it took months for the process to be
complete when it was done Mosin wrapped the girl's face and hands and dressed her in
some secondhand clothes finally he painted on some facial features Mosin had his first
doll it was Olga Chari [Music] MOA from that moment on anatali Mosin was determined to to make more dolls he
watched the local news closely and scoured the internet searching for reports of young girls who had been
killed or died in accidents when he came across a potential candidate he noted the date she was due to be buried and in
which cemetery at night he would visit her grave often sleeping on top of the fresh
dirt for hours he said that if he felt a good intentions emanating from the child's
spirit he would dig her up and mummify her many of the girls were orphans Mosin journaled extensively
about each of his Cemetery visits and the subsequent mummification process in the intervening periods he would exume
women's Graves to steal clothes from the corpses he took the garments home and washed them so he could dress each new
doll in a special outfit Mosin told police officers that he considered all of his dolls to be his
daughters he read to them sang to them and set them all up in the living area so they could watch cartoons
together Mosin said that he and his dolls had their own language and celebrated their own
holidays their Spirits communicated with him Mosin had his favorites which were kept in his
bedroom if he lost interest in a particular doll he would move her to the garage
sometimes he grew to dislike certain dolls so much that he returned them to their
graves the 26 corpses that the officers found in their search had only been his current cohort in the last 9 years Mosin
had exhumed and mummified the bodies of more than 80 young [Music] girls the youngest and most recently
acquired corpse belonged to a 2-year-old girl who Mosin called called Masha just a few months earlier in the
summer Masha had been on a road trip to Crimea with her family for a Seaside vacation about halfway into the journey
a driver in another vehicle made an illegal maneuver and crashed into maser's Family's
car Mash's older brother sustained a severe laceration to his stomach but survived masher and her parents died
instantly soon after the accid inent the family were buried in a cemetery in the
northwest of n a few months later in early October Mosin dug up Mash's grave he was especially interested in
what clothes she had been buried in after he pulled Mash's remains out of the coffin he saw that she was wearing
an elaborate white dress Mosin told officers that he was disappointed to find the upper half of
Mash's body had already begun to decompose which was not suitable for his purposes Mash's lower half however was
still intact Mosin bisected Mash's corpse he wrapped her upper body in a rag and
reburied it carelessly leaving some of her bones strewn around her grave he placed masa's lower half and her burial
gown in a bag and took them home after Mosin mummified Mash's partial remains he had attached them to
the head and torso of an actual porcelain doll he then redressed the hybrid doll
in Mash's white burial gown it wasn't the first time he'd done that once he had even sewn a teddy
bear's head on top of a homemade doll Mosin told officers that he was waiting for science to catch up with his
work he believed one day it would advance to a point that his dolls could actually be resurrected and brought to
life Anatoli Mosin was charged with multiple counts of desecrating human remains and their burial sides he was
held in custody pending trial while officers commenced the difficult task of contacting his victim's
families despite being constantly tormented by the notes left on their daughter's grave Olga Chim moa's parents
Natalia and eagor had managed to rebuild their lives after 14 months of Separation The couple
rekindled their marriage in 2009 Natalia gave birth to their second child a son they named
Alexi Natalia felt that her faith in life had been restored when Natalia and eigor were
informed of mosin's capture and what he had done to wga's remains they were horrified Natalia later told reporters
my girl had been murdered if anyone deserved to rest in peace she did but instead her grave has been
robbed the police strongly advised the couple not to view the doll that Mosin had created from Olga's remains they
told Natalia and eigor that the site was too grotesque to ensure the investigation
was as thorough as possible police obtained Natalia and Eagle's permission to exume Olga's grave on Friday October
5th 2012 11 months after mosin's arrest Natalia and Eagle watched as Olga's coffin was raised from the
ground there was a large hole in the lid at the head of the coffin exactly as Mosin had
described inside the coffin was empty overcome with shock and grief Natalia nearly collapsed
Mosin had exume Olga's Remains the night after Natalia and Eagle noticed that a wreath they'd left had been
moved every time they visited Olga's grave thereafter her coffin had been empty Natalia told
reporters I still find it hard to grasp the scale of his sickening work but for 9 years he was living with my mummified
daughter in his bedroom I had her for 10 years he had her for nine after mosin's arrest his parents
were interviewed by police they said that they did never notice the foul smell inside the apartment and had no
idea that the dolls were actually human bodies they had just thought their son had a strange but harmless
hobby for around 6 months each year they left the city to stay in their country Treehouse they had no idea what he got
up to while they were away during mosin's extensive interviews he admitted to much more than the
creation of his dolls he explained that he was also responsible for desecrating the graves
of Muslim women around the city these crimes had nothing to do with the airport bomb attack instead Mosin
was angry about a civil claim he'd brought against one of the rep representatives of the local Muslim
Community after the Court ruled against him mosan began vandalizing the graves in
retaliation Mosin expressed no regret or remorse for any of his actions except in
one instance his former soulmate came forward to give an exclusive interview to the newspaper moskovsky comam molet
and said that mosan had admitted to feeling guilty about mik sharov shov was the man who had been found
responsible for digging up the graves of two young girls in neighboring towns about 200 km outside of
Nishi while in custody Mosin confessed to his cellmate that he' actually committed those
Crimes by the time Mosin was arrested sharov had already been released from Psychiatric
treatment but according to mosin's former cellmate Mosin still seemed haunted by the
Injustice Anatoli Mosin stood trial on Wednesday February 27 2013 during his time in custody Mosin
was thoroughly assessed by psychologists and psychiatrists according to their findings Mosin suffered from paranoid
schizophrenia the court found that anat mosin's mental disorder impaired his ability to understand the nature and
social impact of his actions Mosin knew what he'd done was illegal but he didn't believe it was
wrong he maintained this conviction throughout even telling the girls family members who were present in the
courtroom quote you abandoned your girls in the cold I brought them home and warmed them
up the court found Mosin was not criminally responsible for his actions and ordered that he be subject objected
to compulsory medical measures in a secure psychiatric facility until such time as he no longer posed a threat to
others mosin's compulsory treatment was reassessed every 6 months each time the measures were
extended over the years the chief physician at the facility in which Mosin was being held petitioned the court for
Mosin to be declared incompetent such a classification would allow Mosin to be placed in home care or
an open facility rather than being permanently locked up Mosin would still continue treatment and supervision but
would be allowed to move about the city freely on Tuesday August 2 2022 after nearly 10 years insecure custody The
District Court approved the petition and Mosin was reclassified however as of the date of
this recording MOS has not been moved to home care and his treatment in a secure
facility continues Natalia Chim mova has shared concern about mosin's potential release
stating I worry that one day he will convince them he's sane and he'll come out and start his morbid activities
again this concern is heightened by a remark mosan made to police as they removed the corpses from his home
quote don't bury them too deep because the moment I get out I'm going to come back for
them all that Natalia and Eagle want is for their daughter to finally rest in peace they have reburied Olga's remains
in an unmarked grave in an undisclosed location [Music] for

Case 299: Olga Chardymova

*** Content warnings: Child victims ***

In 2002, 10-year-old Russian girl Olga Chardymova was allowed to walk to her grandmother’s house unaccompanied for the very first time. Her journey barely began before she met a monster.

For years after her death, Olga’s parents were continually tormented by another kind.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Holly Boyd Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-299-olga-chardymova

Brief Summary

Anatoli Mosin mummified young girls' remains, including Olga Chimova, creating disturbing dolls in his apartment.

Key points

A Grizzly Discovery. Human remains of a young girl are found in the attic of an apartment.
The Threatening Note. Olga's parents receive a chilling note demanding a grand monument for their daughter.
Anatoli Mosin's Arrest. The discovery of 26 human dolls in Mosin's apartment leads to his arrest.
Mosin's Disturbing Hobby. Anatoli Mosin exhumed and mummified over 80 young girls, treating them as his daughters.
Trial and Mental Health Assessment. Mosin was found to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and deemed not criminally responsible.
Concerns Over Potential Release. Natalia Chim mova fears Mosin might return to his morbid activities if released.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It was a well-known Russian nursery rhyme...

Music emanates from inside the doll, shocking the officers.

3:30WatchOct 5, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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