A YOUNG flight attendant murdered in a five-star Dubai hotel was reportedly trying to flee a violent stalker ex after paying him more than £10,000 to leave her alone.
Anastasia Nikulina, 25, had been “seeking to flee from a brutal stalker” when she was killed in her hotel room, according to reports.
The Russian flight attendant had allegedly handed over the cash to her jealous former partner as “compensation” for gifts he had showered on her during their relationship.
But the money “did not stop his abusive behaviour”.
He is also said to have demanded she transfer ownership of her car to him.
“For almost two years, the man allegedly stalked her everywhere she might appear,” newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported as new details emerged.
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“He beat her, broke into her homes and terrorised her.
“Yet after repeated police reports he was inexplicably released each time.”
Friends said Nikulina feared she would be killed and tried to escape Russia after police allegedly failed to protect her.
She allegedly told her pals “the nightmare could go on forever and began looking for a job with another airline, far away from St Petersburg”.
“She flew to Dubai for a job interview.”
Instead, she was brutally murdered.
Nikulina was found dead in her room at the Voco Bonnington Dubai hotel with 15 stab wounds to her neck, torso and limbs, according to reports.
Her body was discovered by hotel staff a few hours later in a pool of blood.
The murder suspect, Albert Morgan, 41, allegedly followed her from Russia to Dubai with an accomplice.
Morgan is a Russian legal consultant who previously changed his surname to match famous US banking dynasty JP Morgan after serving seven years in jail on drugs charges.
He is now accused of using deception to gain access to her room.
His alleged accomplice, a bailiff from St Petersburg, reportedly tailed Nikulina through the hotel lobby to identify her room number.
Morgan then allegedly “stole a hotel robe from a laundry section at the Voco Bonnington Dubai five star hotel and persuaded a maid to open the door to let him into Anastasia’s room, claiming he had forgotten his key”.
Earlier reports claim he accused her of working as an escort with VIP passengers while they were dating.
Nikulina was said to be in “complete shock” when she found her alleged stalker inside her room.
A row followed, during which he repeatedly stabbed her with scissors, it is alleged.
Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that Morgan allegedly poured antiseptic dye over her body before fleeing the hotel.
The suspect is alleged to have boarded a flight back to Russia shortly after the killing.
Dubai police identified him using hotel CCTV footage and alerted Russian authorities, who arrested him when he landed in St Petersburg.
On his return, Morgan reportedly asked to be sent to fight in the war in Ukraine, which is a controversial route some alleged criminals have used to avoid prosecution under Russian law.
Despite this, he was shown in court wearing a hat and mask as a judge remanded him in custody for two months pending the investigation.
Reports say Morgan and Nikulina lived together for a period and were married for two years before splitting. She had withdrawn earlier domestic abuse complaints against him.
Nikulina worked for Russian airline Pobeda, owned by state carrier Aeroflot, but had plans to move into private jet work “despite his disapproval”.
It comes amid growing scrutiny of violent relationship cases in Russia, following separate claims that construction tycoon Dmitry Kuzmin, 42, assaulted his former partner after she tried to end their relationship.
Kuzmin is accused of inflicting “serious bodily harm” on 33-year-old glamour model Anzhelika Tartanova, who allegedly survived only after a passer-by raised the alarm.
Friends have claimed the businessman was “controlling and jealous”, and that what began with lavish gifts ended in violence when she tried to leave.