18-year-old victim of grisly rape dies in Ukraine
KIEV - The Associated Press
This undated photo taken on a mobile phone and made available by the mother of Oksana Makar, Tetyana Surovitska, shows her daughter Oksana Makar in Nikolaev, Ukraine. AP Photo
Ukrainian health authorities say an 18-year-old woman whose grisly rape and attempted murder shocked the country has died.Prosecutors say Oksana Makar was raped by three young men on March 9 in the southern city of Mykolaiv. They then tried to strangle her and set her on fire.
Makar survived and battled for her life for over two weeks.
Health officials in the eastern city of Donetsk where she was being treated said she died Thursday of severe burns and damage to her lungs.
The crime shocked Ukraine with its cruelty. But it also caused nationwide protests against corruption after police initially released two of the suspects who had powerful connections in the region. All the three suspects were eventually arrested and charged with rape, and one with attempted murder.
