A millionaire businessman who left his girlfriend with half her skull missing after a horrific attack has died from ‘shock’ after learning he would be jailed or fight in Ukraine.
Anzhelika Tartanova, 33, suffered catastrophic head injuries, severe brain damage and lasting cognitive problems after Dmitry Kuzmin, 41, attacked her.
Kuzmin has now died suddenly from a suspected heart attack, after learning of his expected punishment.
The model went on TV four months ago to reveal the horrors of her injuries.
Initially, businessman Kuzmin hoped to avoid a prison sentence and was even allowed to visit Tartanova in hospital, despite having caused her horrific injuries. But then he was charged with attempted murder.
‘Preliminary reports indicate that Kuzmin’s heart failed due to the psychological trauma of the criminal case brought against him following the horrific beating of Anzhelika,’ Russian media said.
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The model was unable to speak for months after the attack by the road construction mogul.
She revealed her recovery has been slow from the attack on 23 November last year, and her speech has not fully recovered.
‘For a long time I didn’t go near the mirror, I was very scared,’ she said.
Her sister Anastasia Beloglazova said: ‘What kind of animal do you have to be to treat a person like that…? It’s horrifying.’
Kuzmin’s attack shattered her bones, effectively ‘removing half of her skull’, Starhit news said, adding: ‘Now she’s dealing with serious consequences: speech, memory, and coordination are impaired, and she faces a long recovery and further surgeries.’
Doctors say the assault caused devastating brain trauma, requiring emergency surgery to save her life.
Neurosurgeon Vyacheslav Smirnov said her case was ‘complex and severe’.
‘She not only had a subdural haematoma, but also damage and destruction of the brain tissue itself. And a severe traumatic brain injury,’ he said.
Without immediate surgery, she would likely have slipped into a coma within hours, he said.
The procedure required surgeons to remove a large section of Tartanova’s skull to relieve pressure on her brain — a process known as a decompressive craniotomy.
Smirnov said her skull would later be reconstructed using modern technology, explaining: ‘A 3D printer will create a model of her skull… we will completely cover this defect, and cosmetically nothing will be visible.’
Kuzmin had been told he was expected to face at least eight years in prison.
His only way of avoiding prison would have been to enlist in Vladimir Putin’s army and fight on the frontline in Ukraine.
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