A woman who had her hands chopped off with an axe by her jealous husband has been seen wriggling a finger in hospital after surgeons reattached one of her hands.
Margarita Grachyova, 25, had her fingers crushed before her arms were severed at the wrists in a jealous rage by her spouse Dmitry, 26, a trained psychologist at their home near Serpukhov, in western Russia.
He then drove her to hospital before handing himself in to police and confessing to the appalling crime on December 11.
One hand was sewn on in nine-hour surgery and in a remarkable video clip Margarita smiles and shows she can already move one finger. But her husband crushed the fingers on her right hand with the axe before chopping it off, and it was too damaged to be attached again.
Margarita Grachyova who had her hands chopped off with an axe by her jealous husband has been pictured smiling and wriggling a finger after surgeons reattached one of her hands
One hand was sewn on in nine-hour surgery and in a remarkable video clip Margarita can already move one finger (pictured)
Margarita Grachyova (right), 25, had her fingers crushed before her arms were severed at the wrists in a jealous rage by her spouse Dmitry (left), 26, a trained psychologist at their home near Serpukhov, in western Russia
In the other video mother of two Margarita thanks friends and supporters after an outpouring of sympathy and financial help for the woman who will now need a prosthetic hand.
‘Hey hey hey! Hi! I love everyone, thanks, ‘ she says, blowing kisses. ‘Missing you, come to visit me with flowers.’
She is now desperate to get home to care for her children, aged three and four.
Doctors have sewn back one hand but it is still unclear if the Russian woman will regain use of it
‘My main hope now is that my hands [will be usable], I hope I can care for my children – walk with them, hug them, stroke them,’ she said from her hospital bed.
Grachyov now faces a long prison sentence, but Margarita revealed that she fears for her life when he is eventually released.
‘I’m afraid…I do not know what will happen when he is released from jail… Because he said – ‘When I’m be free, I will kill you.’
In her first detailed account of what led to the vicious and cruel attack, in a forest near their home at Panikovo village, in Moscow region, she said he had already threatened her once before with a knife, after which she called police.
Grachyov, a trained psychologist, accused Margarita – who works in marketing – of an affair with her divorced work colleague Alexander Cherkasov, 39, a driver, which both deny.
He had followed the pair to the cinema – where they took their children – and misunderstood.
He also saw a text message exchange between Margarita and Alexander.
‘Dmitry threatened me,’ she said. ‘He told me – ‘I’ll pour acid over you. He had already taken me [to the forest] with a knife. Dmitry never used to be like this.
Grachyov, a trained psychologist, accused Margarita (pictured smiling in her hospital bed) of an affair with her divorced work colleague Alexander Cherkasov, 39, a driver, which both deny
In her first detailed account of what led to the vicious and cruel attack, in a forest near their home at Panikovo village, in Moscow region, she said he had already threatened her once before with a knife, after which she called police
Margarita Grachyova (left), 25, had her fingers crushed before her arms were severed at the wrists in a jealous rage by her spouse Dmitry (right), 26, a trained psychologist
The horrific attack came after she had demanded a divorce following previous threats and violence – and the pair were living apart. Pictured: Margarita enjoying a day at the beach before the gruesome attack
‘He never beat me… But now he told me – “You knew, if we’re together – it will be forever”.
‘Sometimes I had the feeling that he was not quite normal… I just wanted him to be normal, we had been living together, we have two kids.’
When their relationship became strained, she had hoped for a civilised divorce.
Asked what punishment he deserved, she said: ”I don’t know. The main thing is that he must understand, that it is not good to do such things especially given that I am the mother of his kids.
‘I am afraid that he will kill me if he’s released. I do not want him be allowed out of jail.’
Asked in a court cage if he repented for this ‘stupid thing’, Dmitry said: ‘Yes I do’. Before driving her to a forest where he attacked her, he messaged his mother and sister saying: ‘Please excuse me. I can’t live like this any longer, when I am cheated’
Dmitry Grachyov has been remanded in custody until February, and faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted
‘I filed for divorce,’ said the distraught woman who had two children, aged three and four, with her violent husband. ‘Then he saw my text exchange with a (male) colleague’
It is believed he knew she had started dating a male colleague from work, and had followed her to the cinema. Pictured: The couple together before the brutal disfiguration
He crushed her fingers with the axe handle and cut her on the hip (pictured), say reports based on police sources
Before the attack, Margarita had told friends of their close relationship and said she wanted to stay with him and celebrate their wedding anniversary together. Pictured: Their wedding day
Cherkasov said: ‘I’m shocked. There could not be an affair between us. We are just colleagues.’
Earlier, Grachyov had made his wife take a lie detector test after he suspected her of cheating. The test proved her insistence that she had not had an affair.
Margarita’s surgeon Timofey Sukhinin, said: ‘During each change of bandages Margarita is moving fingers, which is a fantastic sign of early rehabilitation.
He had previously driven her to the forest in November and attacked her with a knife, demanding she give up the idea of divorce. Pictured: Margarita
Margarita said Dmitry had previously threatened to pour acid over her face. After this, Margarita and her mother demanded that he move out. Pictured: Margarita with her children
‘All of us asked him to leave and he finally went to live with his mother,’ said Inna. ‘I spoke to him myself’
‘I really respect her mood, because she is dead set on getting better as soon as she can, and going home her kids.
‘She is determined to sort the prosthetic hand, and to do the best she can to help her left hand work.
‘I’ve got two children’, she tells us, ‘there is no time to waste’.’
He tailed his wife when she took their children to the cinema with her male friend from work, say reports. Pictured: Dmitry in a detention centre
‘Their family pictures show what a happy family they were until recently,’ said a friend. ‘Then he attacks her like this in a jealous rage’