A Russian flight attendant who fled to the United Arab Emirates in a desperate attempt to escape her alleged stalker was found brutally murdered in a luxury Dubai hotel — weeks after warning she feared she would be killed.
Anastasia Nikulina had recently relocated from St Petersburg to Dubai for a new job, hoping to start afresh after what friends described as nearly two years of stalking, abuse and terror. She was murdered at the age of 25 by her former lover and stalker.
Found dead in five-star hotel room
Nikulina was discovered dead in her room at the five-star Voco Bonnington Dubai hotel, having suffered 15 stab wounds to her neck, torso and limbs. Hotel staff found her body a few hours after the killing, lying in a pool of blood, according to a report in Metro.
She had reportedly flown to Dubai for a job interview with another airline when she was killed.
A friend said the search for a new job was a “desperate” effort to escape a situation she feared would “go on forever”.
Alleged stalker ‘followed her to Dubai’
{{/usCountry}}A friend said the search for a new job was a “desperate” effort to escape a situation she feared would “go on forever”.
Alleged stalker ‘followed her to Dubai’
{{/usCountry}}The prime suspect in the murder is Albert Robertovich Morgan, 41 — a former partner whom Nikulina had repeatedly accused of stalking and violent abuse.
Investigators believe Morgan travelled to Dubai with an alleged accomplice and fled back to Russia shortly after the killing. Dubai police identified him using hotel CCTV footage and alerted Russian authorities, who arrested him after he landed in St Petersburg.
Reports say that upon his return to Russia, and before being detained, Morgan sent requests to be deployed to fight in the war in Ukraine.
‘Tricked maid’ to gain access to room
According to police reports, Morgan’s alleged accomplice — described as a bailiff from St Petersburg — followed Nikulina through the hotel lobby to identify her room number.
Morgan is then accused of stealing a hotel robe from a laundry area and persuading a maid to unlock the door by claiming he had forgotten his key.
Once inside, he allegedly confronted Nikulina, accusing her of working as an escort with VIP passengers while they were dating.
She was reportedly in “complete shock” upon finding him in her room. A confrontation followed, during which Morgan allegedly stabbed her repeatedly with scissors.
Russian media outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda reported: “As she lay dying, he poured antiseptic dye over her body before fleeing the hotel. The young woman’s attempt to start a new life abroad ended in unimaginable horror.”
Years of alleged stalking and abuse
Nikulina had reportedly tried multiple times to escape Morgan’s control. In one attempt to make him leave her alone, she allegedly paid him £10,000 — without success.
For almost two years, she claimed he stalked her, assaulted her, broke into her home, destroyed her identity documents and terrorised her, despite her repeated complaints to police, as per a report in The Sun.
Friends said she had reported Morgan several times, but no action was taken.
Flight attendant predicted her own death
Three weeks before her murder, Nikulina recorded a chilling video warning that she feared she would be killed.
In the video dated November 27, she said: “I am recording this video in order to expose the person who is tormenting me and who will most likely kill me soon.”
“Albert has repeatedly attacked me and I filed a statement on 19th November for attacking me and my mother, which was dismissed.
“There have also been hundreds of statements filed with the 9th police department in….St Petersburg,” she said, according to a report in The Sun.