Body of Ukrainian murder victim remains in Mérida, nearly six weeks after his death

Search continues for the prime suspect - his wife - who may have fled Mexico through Belize

Mérida, Yucatán -
The body of a Ukrainian man killed in late December near the historic town of Valladolid and the famous Mayan ruins at Chichén Itzá has yet to be claimed, a local news service reports.

Oleksandr Batychko, 25, was found next to his rented car on an isolated rural property Jan. 7. He'd been dead for days, according to state forensic investigators, and his remains were in an advanced state of decomposition. Batychko was eventually identified by DNA analysis, with test samples submitted by family members in the eastern European nation.

The victim and his wife arrived on the Yucatán peninsula in late 2012, renting a car in Play del Carmen. Items found in the vehicle suggested they were headed west to visit the ruins, and perhaps to Mérida, which is but two hours away.

Because cash and credit cards were found with Batychko, police immediately discounted robbery as a motive. This city's main daily newspaper speculated that he might have been yet another victim of a gay sexual encounter turned violent, based upon evidence at the crime scene. Two American citizens were murdered in Mérida in 2012, and both cases involved male prostitutes or gay sex partners.

But as MGRR reported on Jan. 18, Batychko's wife soon became the prime suspect in the case. Maryna Burakova has vanished, and police admit they have no idea where she might have gone. They don't exclude the possibility that others were involved. "Violence on Yucatán soil" - against foreigners.

The Yucatán state prosecutor's office worked through the Ukrainian Embassy in Mexico to identify Batychko. Family members have indicated that they will travel here to claim the remains, but as of today they've not arrived. The body remains in the custody of forensic services.

Feb. 9 - Mexico has issued an international arrest warrant for Maryna Burakova. The assumption - a logical one - is that she may have fled the country via Belize, which borders southern Quintana Roo state. The Mexican Foreign Ministry has asked Guatemala and El Salvador to maintain a lookout for Burakova. The couple just married in 2008, and no motive has been suggested by authorities in this country for the murder which she may have committed.

Speaking of Belize, here's someone else who may have done an Exit, Stage Left through the nation once known as British Honduras, to avoid the murder charge he's now on trial for. Anybody can get their hands on a Belize passport - anybody.

When pressed as to why he's so confident that she was the perpetrator, rather than herself a victim, a local prosecutor said evidence of a fight between the two was found at the scene. He surely must be referring to this knife - the one with which Oleksandr was repeatedly stabbed - which allegedly had Maryna's fingerprints all over it.

In the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Thursday (Feb. 7), demonstrators marched outside the Mexican Embassy, demanding that authorities in this country find Maryna and solve the murder. That's likely what prompted Mexico finally to issue an arrest warrant for her yesterday, a month after Oleksandr's badly decomposed body was found in rural Yucatán state.

Mar. 21, 2014 - Yucatán prosecutor confirms: remains found in remote peninsular region are those of missing Ukrainian tourist

Dec. 30 - Six weeks after murder of American in Mérida, no arrests, no identified suspects, no developments
Feb. 1 - Yucatán safety continues to be subject of hot debate

Dec. 2 - A very strange man with connections to Belize