A JEALOUS bondage-obsessed Bitcoin trader “went crazy” and strangled his air stewardess girlfriend to death in a bathtub, a court was told.

But, the Russian court accepted that Nikita Enin, 27, was sane and sentenced him to just nine years in a strict regime penal colony.

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Stewardess Albina Mukhametzyanova, 23, was found brutally strangled in the bath of their suite in Moscow in 2019.

Cops were called after her clothed body was found in a bath “full of water” at the hotel where staff said the couple had regularly met over a period of months.

A major manhunt was launched after he went on the run after killing her, and he was detained days later with a Rasputin-like beard and a black eye.

Reports said he resisted arrest and wielded a knife but gave himself up after officers shot into the air.

Cryptocurrency specialist Nikita Enin told police he was overcome with jealousy after snooping on his lover’s social media following a night in a hotel at the city’s Vnukovo airport.

CCTV pictures showed him at reception extending the room for another 24 hours before vanishing in a taxi, according to the hotel.

Staff later found the corpse of the stewardess who worked for an airline called I FLY with services to China, Vietnam and Russian cities.

Enin “killed” the flight attendant “unintentionally” after a “row", he told police.

The couple had just “got back together” after a split because she had been “scared” when he tried to “strangle” her, say friends. 

They had spent a “normal” night together but in the morning he checked messages on her smartphone, Enin said.

The “wealthy” trader told police he had confronted her before killing her.

His defence argued that Enin was mentally ill and needed treatment.

But Russia’s Serbsky Centre for Social and Forensic Psychiatry found him to be “explosive” and a “hot-tempered egoist” yet aware of the consequences of his actions when he killed the stewardess.

The court accepted he was sane and convicted Enin.

A former female colleague of Enin’s said he was “strange” and had a keen interest in bondage.

“I know nothing about his relationship with this girl,” she said.

“I only know that Nikita was fond of BDSM, and often tried to talk about it.”

An acquaintance called Zhanna said he had confessed to her that he and Albina split up because he had previously strangled her, and she "was scared" of him.

Zhanna said she was "shaking" after finding out her former friend had killed Albina.

Friends said Albina was living her dream in becoming a flight attendant and had moved to Moscow from provincial city Naberezhnye Chelny three months before her death, to pursue her career.

They said: “She was a very positive person. When we saw her, she never stopped laughing.”

Her sister Landysh, 27, said: “She was so happy and beautiful. “I cannot believe that we will never see her again.”

HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:

Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:

• Always keep your phone nearby.
• Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
• If you are in danger, call 999.
• Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
• Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
• If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
• Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.

If you are a ­victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200.

The charity’s email support ­service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].

Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available every day from 10am-6pm.

You can also call the freephone 24-hour ­National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.

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