Two girls were found dead on the sidewalk below their apartment complex in Izhevsk, Russia, after posting social media messages to loved ones, then leaping off ta 10-story building earlier this week.
The Sun reports that Maria Vinogradova, 12, and her half-sister, Maria Svetozarova, 15, may have been influenced by the terrifying Blue Whale suicide game that’s suspected to be responsible for upwards of 130 teen deaths in the country. Police are still investigating the exact cause of the two sisters’ apparent suicides.
Maria Vinogradova, 12, and her sibling Maria Svetozarova, 15, were found dead on a snowy pavement beneath their… https://t.co/IDZdNNiXtS
— Police Alerts UK (@PoliceAlertsUk) February 21, 2018
Before they jumped, both young women posted on social media. Maria shared a note to her boyfriend—of whom her mother did not approve.
“Forgive me, please. I love you so much… I know you will find somebody better than me.”
In a video, Anastasia said, “Goodbye to everyone. I love you all. This is true. Love you very, very much.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the Blue Whale challenge is a sinister “suicide game” that may have originated in Russia. Played online over the course of 50 days, participants, who tend to be adolescents with depression, are directed by unknown ringleaders to complete tasks of increasing danger.
In the beginning, players are instructed to watch scary movies, and later, they must carve a blue whale into their flesh. On the final day, the instruction is suicide.
The paper reveals that the Russian Interior Ministry found 1,339 online suicide groups “with an audience of more than 12,000 users and over 200,000 posts.”
Nineteen Blue Whale “administrators” have been detained so far, with 230 criminal cases currently under investigation.
[Feature Photo: Maria Svetozarova and Maria Vinogradova/Twitter]
