Woman's head found in park after suspected sex attack

A 29-year-old man has reportedly confessed to the killing, police say

The city of Tomsk is in shock following the brutal murder of 20-year-old architecture student Viktoria Povesma (Vkontakte/east2west news/Siberia Times)

The severed head of a 20-year-old woman has been found in the botanical gardens of the Russian city of Tomsk following a suspected sex attack.

The remains of Viktoria Povesma, a 20-year-old architecture student, were found after she had gone missing during a night out with friends in the city on 29 July.

Her head was found in a plastic bag near a pond, and police later found her body nearby.

A 29-year-old man with a history of sex attacks has been detained by police, according to the Siberian Times.

Police reports state that the man has already confessed to killing Ms Povesma, the paper says.

She was last seen at Lagerny Garden near the river in the south of the city.

Her parents reported her missing on Sunday and later that day her decapitated head was found in the botanical gardens over two miles away.

A statement from the regional branch of the Investigative Committee said Viktora “went for a walk and did not come back.

“On Sunday her parents reported her missing and later on 31 July by the bank of a pond in the Botanic Garden a severed head was found.”

Police also found the black rucksack she had been wearing and found that her mobile phone had been switched off.

According to the Siberian Times the case has shocked the city which has a population a little over half a million.

“This girl is almost a child - these beasts,” said one Tomsk resident on social media.

Another said there had been “so many deaths in this Botanic Garden”.