A morgue employee in the Kharkiv region has been exposed for systematically appropriating the personal belongings of deceased Ukrainian soldiers, the press service of the regional prosecutor's office reported.
The investigation began after the wife of the deceased defender contacted her. The woman noticed the disappearance of her husband's engagement ring, which was on him before the body was transferred to the morgue.
During the investigation, it turned out that a junior nurse from the Chuguiv branch of the State Criminal Investigation Service "Kharkiv Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination" was involved in the theft. She not only removed phones, chains, and other valuables from the soldiers, but also cut off wedding rings from their fingers with pliers.
Later, the woman handed over the stolen jewelry to pawnshops, receiving cash for it. During the searches, a significant amount of jewelry and receipts from pawnshops were found on the suspect.
Law enforcement officers are investigating the involvement of other morgue employees in similar crimes and are identifying all victims.
The woman was informed of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 185 (theft committed repeatedly under martial law) and Part 3 of Article 297 (illegal possession of objects that were on the body of a deceased person) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The prosecutor's office will petition the court for a preventive measure in the form of detention.
