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British millionaire run over as he celebrated first wedding anniversary to Ukrainian bride WAS murdered
By Stephen Wright
A millionaire British businessman run over as he celebrated his first wedding anniversary with his internet bride is thought to have been murdered, police said yesterday.
Detectives in the Ukraine have upgraded their inquiry into the death of 47-year-old Barry Pring from an unexplained ‘traffic accident’ to ‘intentional murder’.
It comes after a Daily Mail investigation revealed a highly suspicious chain of events leading up to the killing near Kiev.
Wedding day: Miss Ziuzina and Barry Pring in the Ukraine in 2007. Detectives have upgraded their inquiry into the death to murder
Interview: In a statement last night, the Ukrainian district police said officers were keen to interview Mr Pring's widow, Anna Ziuzina, 19 years his junior, about his death
We also exposed the Ukrainian authorities’ shambolic handling of the case, prompting the Foreign Office to demand a fresh police probe.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has been told the local mafia may have been involved and detectives now firmly believe Mr Pring was the victim of a contract killing.
In a statement last night, the Ukrainian district police said officers were keen to interview Mr Pring’s widow, Anna Ziuzina, 19 years his junior, about his death.
Mr Pring, from Battersea, south-west London, was struck by a car travelling at 80mph as he waited for a cab on the hard shoulder of a deserted dual carriageway on the outskirts of Kiev in February 2008. The vehicle’s lights were switched off at the time of impact and debris found at the scene included false number plates and a bogus taxi sign.
Killed: Mr Pring, from Battersea, south-west London, was struck by a car travelling at 80mph as he waited for a cab on the hard shoulder of a deserted dual carriageway on the outskirts of Kiev in February 2008
Miss Ziuzina, now 33, had been at his side a few minutes earlier but had left the spot to fetch her gloves from a nearby restaurant, where they had just enjoyed a romantic meal. She was standing nearby, with her back to the road, when her husband was killed.
The widow, who worked in strip clubs and met Mr Pring through a dating agency, is involved in an increasingly bitter legal battle with his British relatives over his £1.5million estate. He died without leaving a will.
She is seeking £200,000, plus half of everything else, and a hearing is due to take place at the High Court in London in September.
Although she never lived in Britain during their marriage and since his death has advertised herself as a model in Miami, she has been granted legal aid to fund her claim. This is because she was Mr Pring’s next of kin and held a two-year marriage visa when he died.
Miss Ziuzina is thought to be currently in the UK but her exact whereabouts are unclear. Although she is said to be living in London, she did not attend a recent preliminary court hearing.
Nor did she attend Mr Pring’s belated funeral in Devon in September last year.
 
Hidden life: Anna Ziuzina, left, worked in strip clubs and was 19 years Mr Pring's junior. Barry Pring first made contact with her on website Elena's Models
She is expected to be called to give evidence at an inquest into his death in the next year.
Nikolai Zhukovich, spokesman for Kiev police, told the Mail: ‘The case has been re-categorised to a murder investigation.
‘I cannot tell you who the suspect is, nor if there are any suspects at all. The only thing I can say – we think it was murder and now we are investigating it in this way as a successful attempt on Pring’s life. We now want to interview Anna Ziuzina. Our investigator will first just invite her to come. If she does not come, we’ll apply to the court. We do not think she is hiding, so we hope she will just come and talk to us.’
Tamara Khavroshina, lawyer for Miss Ziuzina, said: ‘They had an unsolved road accident. Now they are likely to get an unsolved murder.
‘Anna is not in the Ukraine now. She is still busy trying to resolve her inheritance. I do not think she will come to Ukraine even if they call her. If I were Anna, I would have come but I think she is too scared. Law can be bought and sold in this country.’
Mr Pring’s brother Shaughan, who lives near Exeter, said: ‘Obviously we as a family are delighted the case is now being treated as murder and hope the Ukrainian authorities bring those responsible to justice.
‘In bringing Barry’s death to public attention, the Daily Mail’s detailed investigation definitely helped progress the case to where it is now.’
Mr Pring owned a string of properties, drove two cars, including a Lotus, and ran an IT consultancy. Amid allegations of police corruption, incompetence and a cover-up, his killers have not been brought to justice.
Last year a Conservative MP raised questions in the Commons about Mr Pring’s death.
Then, in June last year, the Daily Mail revealed the highly suspicious circumstances of the death. Our inquiries took us from London to Kiev to Miami, and we had exclusive access to legal documents, emails and other papers relating to the case.
We disclosed that prior to meeting Mr Pring, Miss Ziuzina worked at gentlemen’s clubs in Ukraine and Luxembourg.
But when she advertised for a husband on an international dating website, Mr Pring thought she was an English teacher.
When he found out several weeks into their relationship in 2006 that she worked in strip clubs, he persuaded her to give it up and set her up in a flat with an allowance.
They married in Kiev in January 2007 but had a long-distance relationship and lived together for only a few weeks before his death 13 months later.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-21...l#ixzz1vEb89nvE
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