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Suspect in Tatarsky case admits she brought statuette bomb that killed war correspondent

Darya Trepova refused to say who gave her the statuette

Darya Trepova Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

Darya Trepova

© Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. Darya Trepova, detained on suspicion of being involved in the murder of military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, has confessed that she was the one who brought the statuette bomb that exploded inside the cafe, according to a video released by the Russian Interior Ministry's press center on Monday.

"I was the one who snuck in the statuette that exploded," she said.

Asked what she had been detained for, Trepova replied, "I was detained, I would say, for being at the scene of Vladlen Tatarsky's murder."

She refused to say who gave her the statuette.

"I'll talk about that later, if you don’t mind," Trepova said.

The cafe bombing occurred on April 2 during a meeting with military correspondent Maxim Fomin, known under the pen-name Vladlen Tatarsky. He died instantly. More than 30 people were injured. The blast’s yield is estimated at 200 grams of TNT. Investigative Committee detectives and forensic experts are examining the crime scene. The criminal case has been transferred to the central office of the Investigative Committee. On Sunday evening law enforcement officers searched Trepova's home in St. Petersburg. Her mother and sister were interviewed. According to preliminary findings, it was Trepova who handed the figurine bomb to Tatarsky.

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that the terrorist act against Tatarsky had been masterminded by Ukraine’s special services and agents collaborating with Alexey Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation (recognized as an extremist organization in Russia). Trepova is a supporter of the foundation.

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