Guardian Naumova, who killed little Daler, demanded to be released.

      Veronika Naumova, convicted of the murder of 5‑year‑old Daler Bobiev in Yekaterinburg, has filed an appeal. Earlier, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court found the guardian guilty of 61 crimes and sentenced her to 24 years in prison. According to the investigation, she bound Daler with tape, beat him with a metal shoehorn, and then drowned him in a bathtub of cold water.

      Numerous episodes of child abuse were proven. He was beaten and tortured, starved, had his body burned, was electroshocked and locked in a basement. The court confirmed that Naumova hated the boy because he was non‑Russian.

      The convict did not agree with the sentence. She believes the ruling was unjust. In her appeal she even listed 15 reasons why she should be acquitted, reports the E1.RU portal.

      Veronika claims that Daler’s date of death was determined incorrectly, and that specialists did not establish the cause of the boy’s death. She also insists she had no motive to kill him and that she had an alibi. Which alibi is unclear, since Naumova confirmed that at the time of the child’s death she was with him in the apartment. According to her version, Daler’s sister was in the bathroom with him, where the boy had some kind of seizure that caused his death.

      Naumova pointed out that reports of Daler’s torture came from witnesses who could not name exact dates and times of the abuse — meaning the guardian cannot refute these accusations. At the same time, the criminal case files even contain video of the abuse, and the forensic examination found bruises on the murdered boy’s body.

      Naumova believes that an insufficient number of investigative actions were carried out, that the court was biased against her, and that witnesses falsely accused her.

      Veronika demands that the sentence be overturned and the case sent for review. The Second Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction in Saint Petersburg will hear the parties’ complaints in the case on November 10.

      It should be recalled that the boy’s body, whom the whole city had been searching for since June 26, 2023, was found early on June 29 in a garage on Simferopolskaya Street by police. The boy’s guardian became the prime suspect in the crime.

      Earlier Naumova tried to blame the boy’s older sister for his death. In addition, information appeared that the woman accused of killing the boy had stored his body in a freezer. Media also reported that in the Yekaterinburg family where Daler died, a foster child had previously died.

      At the beginning of 2025 investigators spoke about the difficulties in Veronika Naumova’s case. They explained why her criminal case became one of the most complex of 2024.