"He Always Showed Up With A Huge Hockey Bag"
- 13.09.2026, 12:23
Shocking details of the murder of a pregnant woman from Minsk.
The disappearance of 43-year-old Tatyana Martishchenko came to light on Tuesday, September 8: her relatives contacted the police when she stopped communicating with them. Even at the very beginning of the search, volunteers noted that this was an “unusual disappearance.” On Friday, September 11, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the tragedy: the missing woman, who was five to six months pregnant, was found murdered. The suspect turned out to be a 38-year-old Minsk resident with whom she had a close relationship; the man has been detained.
Onlíner visited the house where the victim had been living recently and learned what had happened in the days leading up to the tragedy. The date and location of Tatyana’s funeral have also been announced.
Neighbors in the building: “There was always this tall guy, a hockey player, hanging around with Tanya”
For the past couple of years, Tatyana had been renting an apartment in a Stalin-era building right in the center of Minsk—one of those buildings where a quiet inner world hides behind the grand facade. You turn into the archway from a bustling pedestrian street with lively summer terraces—and it’s as if you’ve stepped into a parallel world, where time has stood still amid flower beds and half-century-old trees.
In the building where Tatiana lived, there were only two apartments per floor. Here, you can still find that rare kind of neighborhood where people have been friends for decades and celebrate New Year’s together. And although the victim had lived here for a relatively short time, literally everyone we spoke with knew her.
“The day before—I just can’t remember exactly if it was September 6 or 7—we were riding the elevator together, as usual, and exchanged a few words. Tanya was always so thoughtful and polite—an incredibly sweet girl. She lived alone in the apartment right above mine. Sometimes I’d hear the sound of her bare feet, but I never heard any screams or swearing coming from there—not while I was there, at least,” says the neighbor from downstairs. “Late Thursday evening, a couple—a man and a woman—came by my place and asked about her. ‘What, has Tanya turned up?’ < … > Good heavens, what a nightmare!” ..
It’s actually almost impossible to hear the sound of a struggle or cries for help from the rooms on the upper floors: most residents note that the soundproofing in this Stalin-era building is just fine. You couldn’t hear children running or a dog barking.
“That’s why this all came as a real shock to all of us—because no one heard anything [suspicious],” the residents recall. — On Tuesday evening, Tanya’s parents called on the intercom and asked to have the entrance door opened: they said they didn’t have their keys and couldn’t reach her by phone. And on Wednesday, they came back with the police: they found the landlady and were able to open the door. They didn’t find anything out of the ordinary in the apartment at the time. Her parents went inside: the money was there, but Tanya wasn’t. Later, they said that on Thursday evening, he [the detainee] was brought in handcuffs, and they turned the whole courtyard upside down.
According to the woman I spoke with, judging by the excerpt from the detainee’s interrogation published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this is the very same young man who was periodically seen with Tatiana before her death.
But it was hard not to notice the romance between Tanya and “her hockey player.” Another neighbor in the same building, Natalia (name changed at her request), had previously told Onlíner about this: “We knew he was an athlete and often went away for training camps. I just can’t wrap my head around what happened: he was always very courteous and gentle with Tanya; he courted her beautifully.”
It’s also known that Tatyana was an obstetrician-gynecologist by training and worked for some time at one of the capital’s maternity hospitals. She then went on to start her own business in the medical field (according to neighbors).
“I knew Tatyana; she rented an apartment from me for a year and a half. She worked for a prestigious foreign company, heading a division related to knee joints. From her first marriage, she had an adult daughter who was a professional figure skater,” wrote an Onlíner reader to the editorial staff.
What is known about the suspect
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a 38-year-old Minsk resident was detained on suspicion of murdering 43-year-old Tatyana Martishchenko. He admitted to investigators that “he had a close relationship with the victim and knew that she was expecting his child.” At the same time, he was officially in another relationship, which led to conflicts between them.
According to the suspect himself, during yet another argument, he stabbed the victim several times and then carried her body out of the apartment in a gym bag. In a clip shown by the agency, there is a moment when he walks through an archway carrying that very bag. Apparently, it was during the day. He then transported and buried the body in a forest in the Minsk District, buying a shovel along the way and disposing of evidence: he threw the bloodstained clothing and the phone of the deceased, Tatyana, under a bridge.
As a reminder, the suspect was identified and detained within 24 hours, and a criminal case has been opened against him.
The victim’s classmates: “Tanya was the only daughter in the family”
The murder of Tatyana Martishchenko caused a major public outcry. Several of the victim’s classmates contacted the Onlíner editorial office with a request to publish a joint letter. According to the letter, Tatyana was her parents’ only child; she graduated from the medical faculty of the Belarusian State Medical University in 2006 and worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist.
“We, Tatyana Martishchenko’s classmates from medical school, are writing to you, deeply shaken by the news of her death. Tanya was our class representative. She was the person on whom the entire class relied during our student years: responsible, dependable, consistently kind, and supportive. People turned to her for help and advice, and she never turned anyone away.
She achieved everything in life on her own. She graduated from university with a degree in obstetrics and gynecology—a profession in which she helped bring new life into the world every day. She raised her daughter with all her heart, supporting her hobbies and sports. She was the only daughter in the family and a pillar of strength for her parents. Everything she achieved was earned through her own hard work, strength of character, and kindness.
It is unbearably painful for us to realize that her happiness, her life, and the life of the new little one inside her were cut short like this. It is impossible to understand, comprehend, or accept. But we really want to say that behind the sparse lines of the news reports lies a vibrant, radiant, and very dignified person whom we knew and loved.
We ask for one thing: that people speak of Tatyana with respect. Not as a “news story,” but as a woman, a doctor, and a mother whose every day was devoted to caring for others. “May our Tanyushka be fondly remembered,” the statement reads.
The date and time of Tatyana’s funeral have been announced
Tatyana’s daughter posted a tribute to her mother on Instagram:
“Recently, my family has suffered a tremendous tragedy—a loss from which I will never be able to recover. My beloved mom, who was five months pregnant and meant everything to me, was brutally taken from us.
I thank everyone who has reached out to me in recent days and shown their concern; I will never forget your support and help—it cannot be overstated.”
The young woman announced the date and time of Tatyana’s funeral service: it will take place on September 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 6 Vygotsky Street, in the funeral chapel of the Holy Elizabethan Convent.