The “golden boy” – whose dad is a wealthy businessman – also allegedly tried to drown her in a bath but she died from a blow to the temple, a forensic report said.
Police say the woman worked as an escort as well as being an adult actress, but before visiting Demenkov, a former executive at Russian gas extraction giant Gazprom, she told relatives she was seeing the man she loved.
In July, he allegedly kidnapped and “severely beat” a 32-year-old woman at his St. Petersburg apartment where Kudrova was found dead. Four other women – all sex workers – were also allegedly attacked and suffered serious injuries, police said.
Demenkov has previously been convicted of kidnapping a female friend and subjecting her to a four day ordeal including “torture” before she escaped after managing to alert neighbours.
He was put on probation after “repenting” this attack in court. Police are warning the man is a danger to women. A law enforcement source said: “We are looking for a criminal, but in fact this is someone who…is a kind of ‘Bluebeard’.
According to the French legend, the wealthy Bluebeard killed his wives and hid them in a locked room in his castle. The suspect’s father Valery Demenkov, 69, is a former senior policeman turned wealthy business tycoon, reports say.
He found Kudrova’s battered body in the bath after going to his son’s apartment when he failed to answer his phone, according to police. He called an ambulance but she died of her injuries. Police say the suspect went on the run and a major search is underway for him.