TWO kids have been found dead inside a locked antique chest while left home alone as cops launched a murder probe.
Anna and Mikhail Prenov, both 10, climbed into the family’s heirloom and were then unable to open it. Police in Ukraine say they are unable to rule out foul play.
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The youngsters were home alone in the village of Mykilske when their parents went to dig potatoes as seasonal workers some 18 miles away.
Footage captures the funeral of the brother and sister who died in tragic circumstances. The school was closed that day.
They were buried together.
Stanislav, 41 and Svetlana (35), their parents, said they spoke to them at 10am, but they were worried when they didn’t hear back from the children an hour later.
They didn’t raise the alarm with neighbours but instead waited for their bus home in the late afternoon, and began a search for the missing girl and boy.
“I took a bicycle, Svetlana went on foot along the nearby streets looking for them, but there were no signs of them,” Stanislav added.
The couple had been playing outside earlier in the day, but a police sniffer dog directed officers to their home.
They found the bodies in an antique wooden chest. This chest had been passed down through the generations as a gift.
According to the National Police in Ukraine, “During a search of this house, the children were discovered in an old chest without any signs of life.”
The scene is being investigated by the forensic services. These are the circumstances.
“Police are considering all versions of the deaths of the brother and sister.”
An investigation into the murder has been opened.
Stanislav said that police believe it was an accident. They got inside, and the chest was closed. Then they collapsed.
“There was a bracket through which a padlock could be placed. The latch might close in a way they could not open it from the inside.
“But the point is that they could have lifted the lid so that there was a gap for air…”
Svetlana Zhigailo, the children’s headteacher, said at the funeral: “The children loved their parents and the parents loved the children.”
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