Ekaterina Tarkhova, accused in the murder of former Samara Mayor Viktor Tarkhov and his wife Natalya, claims she was manipulated and does not consider herself a murderer. In an interview from pre-trial detention, Tarkhova detailed the events leading up to the deaths and implicated Svetlana Metreveli and her relatives in the crime.

Tarkhova recounted how she met Svetlana Metreveli through a cosmetologist named Magda during a trip to Georgia. She claims Metreveli introduced her to a healer named Zinaida and offered to help her solve a problem. Tarkhova alleges that Svetlana and her relatives, Dmitry and Taisiya Metreveli, pressured her into participating in a plan involving a “potion” to be added to her grandparents’ tea.

According to Tarkhova, the “potion” initially had no effect, causing dissatisfaction from Svetlana Metreveli. She recalls Viktor Tarkhov falling asleep, never to wake up, and being excluded from a conversation between Dmitry Metreveli and a relative in both Russian and Georgian. Tarkhova admits to struggling to remember subsequent events and suspects she may have also ingested the “potion.”

After the murders, Tarkhova claims Svetlana Metreveli directed her actions, ordering her to buy liquid nitrogen. She asserts she does not know what Dmitry Metreveli did with the bodies but acknowledges carrying barrels recorded by surveillance cameras, initially containing something and later empty.

Tarkhova stated that difficult relationships with her family, particularly her mother, Lyudmila Tarkhova, contributed to the situation. She expressed fear that her mother might seek custody of her son.

During the “Malahov” program, criminal profiler Sofya Bolkhovitina expressed doubts about Tarkhova’s truthfulness, suggesting she was attempting to create a positive image. The program also addressed screenshots of correspondence showing an unattractive side of the Tarkhovs’ life, which Ekaterina confirmed as genuine. Taisiya Metreveli, Svetlana’s mother, was placed under house arrest in June 2025.