Mérida, Yucatán -
The Yucatán state prosecutor said this week that Maryna Burakova remains the principal suspect in the stabbing death of her husband, Oleksandr Batychko, whose body was found in late December near the town of Valladolid and the famous Mayan ruins at Chichén Itzá.
Now the International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol, has joined Mexico's thus far unsuccessful search for her.
The couple traveled from Ukraine to the Yucatán peninsula in late 2012, renting a car in Playa del Carmen. Maps and other items found in the vehicle suggested they were headed west to visit the ruins, and probably to Mérida, two hours away.
Batychko's decomposed remains were discovered in the rental car on an isolated rural property Jan. 7. He had been dead for many days, according to state forensic investigators. He was identified by DNA analysis, with test samples submitted by family members in the eastern European nation.
Because cash and credit cards were still with Batychko, authorities discounted robbery as a motive.
Burakova's fingerprints allegedly were on a bloody knife found at the remote scene. Police say it was the murder weapon.
There has been no sign of Burakova since. The couple married in 2008.
On Feb. 9 Mexico issued an international arrest warrant for Burakova. Investigators suggested she might have fled to Belize, which borders southern Quintana Roo state. The Mexican Foreign Ministry asked Guatemala and El Salvador to be on the lookout for her. Body of Ukrainian murder victim still in Mérida, nearly six weeks after his death.
"Interpol has issued an advisory about this case," prosecutor Celia Rivas Rodríguez said today. "We're in constant contact with neighboring countries as well, in an effort to locate Burakova."
Interpol, founded in 1923, has 190 member nations. Suspects placed on an Interpol watch list are often identified and detained by immigration and passport control officials during international travel.
Mar. 21, 2014 - Yucatán prosecutor confirms: remains found in remote peninsular region are those of missing Ukrainian tourist
Oct. 21 - Mystery of what befell young Ukrainian couple in Yucatán backcountry remains unsolved.
Jan. 18 - "Violence on Yucatán soil" - against foreigners
© MGRR 2013. All rights reserved. This article may be cited or briefly quoted with proper attribution or a hyperlink, but not reproduced without permission.
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