A ‘sex slave’ has reportedly escaped from a Russian ‘dungeon’ where she was held captive for 14 years by a ‘maniac’ who allegedly raped her more than a thousand times and chopped up and boiled a second victim.   

The woman, named as Ekaterina B, was held in the kidnapper’s home from when she was 19 in 2009, she claims.

She told police that she was subjected to repeated rapes, local reports say. She is now 33 and her identity has not been disclosed.

Vladimir Cheskidov, 51, is currently under armed guard in a psychiatric hospital, facing a criminal investigation into murder, rape and kidnapping.

Another woman, in her 30s and named Oksana, was allegedly killed and dismembered by Cheskidov in 2011, the Russian Investigative Committee said. He allegedly boiled the remains, some of which were found in a cellar.

The man’s mother Valentina lived in the same timber village house in Smolina, Chelyabinsk region, and was aware of the kidnapping of his victims, according to reports.

She was under interrogation today, and taken to the home she shared with her son by detectives.

Ekaterina managed to flee after the man got drunk and his mother called an ambulance for him, cops say.

Incapacitated, he failed for once to padlock her into her ‘dungeon’, with some reports saying this was in a basement.

She escaped and found her sister Elena, who she had not been in touch with for 14 years, and then called police.

The kidnapped woman told her sister Elena that she was permanently threatened.

‘He walked everywhere with me holding a knife, he always had a knife in his hand,’ she said.

They had met when she was 19 and offered her a drink at a railway station, she told her sister.

‘Then he invited me home,’ she said. ‘And it all started there.’

When Vladimir went out he tied her up, fastened her to a beam and taped her mouth shut with duct tape, it is reported.

He freed her to do housework, and she was expected to clean, cook, and look after his mother – as well as provide him with sex.

The room where the woman was kept was equipped with various muzzles, according to local reports.

Laptops and discs with pornographic content, were confiscated from the house. Sex toys used during the alleged torture sessions were also seized by police.

He forced her to drink vodka with him, and ‘severely beat’ her.

She had been from a ‘troubled family’ and while she had a sister, no other relatives were looking for her.

Ekaterina finally escaped by convincing the man’s mother that Cheskidov would kill both of them.

This made the mother summon an ambulance when the man became drunk.

A report from Press Khata said ‘bones and a crushed skull with traces of rust’ were the only remains of the other woman.

There are also investigations into the fate of his father, and an earlier wife, according to reports.

Allegedly his wife had died after falling out of a window, while the father slipped and fell resulting in his fatality.

Some reports suggested remains had been buried in the garden of the village house.

Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda branded the alleged kidnapper, rapist and murderer as ‘subhuman’.

He ‘used to have friends and then he became a recluse’ said the media outlet, citing locals.

His mother, Valentina, at one time worked in a local psychiatric hospital.

Later she sold spectacles from her side of the divided house.

Ekaterina had been reported missing in 2009 but police were unable to trace her – or the other girl who was kidnapped.

Local reports say a sledgehammer is suspected to have been used to kill the other woman.

Baza media outlet reported: ‘In 2009, she met at the Chelyabinsk railway station with a 37-year-old [at the time] Vladimir [Cheskidov].

‘He invited her to his home in the village of Smolino, where he threatened her with a knife and told her that she had been kidnapped.

‘He then locked her in a separate room of his house. He put bars on the windows of the room and locked the room with a padlock.

‘According to preliminary data, all these 14 years Ekaterina lived in this room.

‘According to the woman, Vladimir periodically raped her under threat of murder.’

A criminal case initially for kidnapping has been opened against the man.

Reports say the house was divided into two inside, and the mother lived separate from her son and his kidnapped woman.

The Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement: ‘During the investigation of the criminal case, the involvement of the suspect [Vladimir Cheskidov] in the murder of a local resident in 2011 was established.

‘On this fact, the investigating authorities of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Chelyabinsk region initiated a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation [murder].

‘After committing the murder, the suspect dismembered the woman’s body and buried the remains in the cellar of the house.

‘Currently, the man is under the supervision of law enforcement officers in a medical facility.

‘Investigators and forensic investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee are working at the scene.’

Earlier a kidnapping case was opened, and he is also suspected of raping her throughout the 14 years of her captivity.

Steve Smith narrowly escapes sensational run out from England’s substitute fielder… before being brilliantly caught by Jonny Bairstow

• Steve Smith was given a narrow reprieve after it seemed he had been run out
• Sub George Ealham and Jonny Bairstow combined to stump the former captain
• But it was not given out, only for the England wicket keeper to dismiss him after

By Ed Carruthers For Mailonline

Updated: 13:39 EDT, 28 July 2023

Australia is a world unto itself – and one that harbours worlds within worlds, breathtaking islands with beaches covered in flour-soft sand, exotic wildlife and landscapes that time forgot.

Here we present some of the most enticing of Australia’s island escapes, with the list including the inimitable Whitsundays, car-free Maria Island, the castaway nirvana that is Lord Howe Island and the koala paradise of Raymond Island.

Scroll down for more on these wanderlust-inducing treasures.

Which one would you most like to visit? 

THE WHITSUNDAYS – QUEENSLAND

The Whitsundays, 34 miles (55km) off the coast of Queensland, comprise of 74 paradisiacal sandy islands scattered across the centre of the Great Barrier Reef, with Hamilton, Hayman (images three and four) and Daydream (image five) – and the award-winning Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island (top two images) – just some of the highlights.

It’s trip-of-a-lifetime territory.

Australia.com says: ‘The proximity to the Great Barrier Reef means the Whitsundays are a mecca for sailing, diving and snorkelling, and there are plenty of opportunities to tick off some bucket-list worthy activities like swimming with turtles or flying over famous Heart Reef.’

For more further information visit www.queensland.com.

LORD HOWE ISLAND – NEW SOUTH WALES 

Seven million years ago, Lord Howe Island was a huge shield volcano.

Today, it’s a six-mile- (10km) long paradise for the 400 visitors allowed to stay at any one time.

Lying 700km (435 miles) north-east of Sydney, it serves up a slice of castaway nirvana, with a marine park that’s home to 450 species of fish and 90 species of coral and pristine beaches.

Stay at Capella Lodge for the best views of the island, offered up from the infinity pool.

RAYMOND ISLAND – VICTORIA 

Everybody loves Raymond Island, which lies 300km (190 miles) east of Melbourne in the Gippsland region, and is described by Visitgippsland.com as a ‘forest-clad paradise’.

Visitors are likely to spot koalas there – the 3.7-mile- (two-kilometre) long island supports a huge population of the iconic marsupial – along with kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and parrots.

The island is easily reached from Paynesville via a five-minute ferry ride, which is free for pedestrians and cyclists.

After disembarking, passengers can take a signposted 1.2km ‘koala walk’. Accommodation on the island is available – www.gippslandlakesescapes.com.au/gippsland-accommodation.

GABO ISLAND – VICTORIA 

Located 500 metres off the pristine coast of Croajingolong National Park in Eastern Victoria, remote Gabo Island is small, at just 2.4km (1.5 miles) long and 0.8km wide, but it packs a punch.

Visitors can explore the 19th-century Gabo Island Lighthouse, which at 47 metres (154ft) in height is the second-tallest lighthouse in Australia, and ‘ramble over the island’s pink granite shoreline and rock pools… or relax on the sandy beach’, suggests Parks Victoria.

Premium wildlife-spotting opportunities, meanwhile, will be in abundance – the island is home to 21,000 pairs of breeding penguins and 20,000 pairs of white-faced storm petrels. Visitors should also keep their eyes peeled for passing whales, dolphins and seals.

While the island makes for a great day trip, it’s also possible to stay there – in the historic assistant lighthouse keepers cottage, which can accommodate up to eight guests.

The island has garnered gushing praise from Tripadvisor users, with ‘Runtoseetheworld‘ describing it as ‘one of the most unique and spectacular islands to visit in Australia’. 

A handful of charter boat businesses 14km (8.6 miles) away in Mallacoota offer transfers to and from the island, while a small airstrip means arriving by light aircraft is also possible.

TROUBRIDGE ISLAND, YORKE PENINSULA – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Stunning Troubridge Island – home to a 24.7m- (81ft) high 19th-century lighthouse – lies off the coast of the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, west of Adelaide and a 15-minute boat ride from Edithburgh.

It’s described by the Troubridge Island Escape website as a place ‘where time stands still’. 

And what to do there while the clocks are stopped? Laze on the white-sand beaches, watch the colony of penguins and the resident black-faced cormorants and crested terns, hang out in the heritage-listed lighthouse cottages that can be your home for a few nights and generally soak up the castaway vibes.

Accommodation prices start at $1,144AUD (£617$772US).

KING ISLAND – TASMANIA

King Island lies 80km (49 miles) north-west of Tasmania and is, according to kingisland.org.au, ‘another world’, a veritable smorgasbord of ‘iconic golf courses, boutique lodges and art exhibits’.

The website adds: ‘When visiting, please remember: a wave from the steering wheel to every approaching vehicle is mandatory, the hotel concierge and the airport baggage handler are the same person, and we do have traffic lights… but only on Wednesdays. Life here on King Island is just a little bit more… life.’

Discover Tasmania notes a few other highlights – hiking into the Calcified Forest, surfing on Martha Lavinia Beach and tucking into cheese from King Island Dairy. 

MARIA ISLAND – TASMANIA

Step onto car-free Maria Island, six kilometres (3.7 miles) off Tasmania’s east coast, and you enter a wildlife haven, where Tasmanian devils, Forester kangaroos and rare Cape Barren geese roam, says Discover Tasmania.

The site adds that there are also World Heritage-listed convict-era sites, cliffs with swirling sandstone patterns and the 711m-tall (2,332ft) Mount Maria to conquer.

Lower-altitude activities include guided walks, cycling, snorkelling and lazing on crescent-shaped beaches.

There are no shops on the island, a designated national park, but it is possible to stay there – there are campsites and basic accommodation is available in an old penitentiary.

TIWI ISLANDS – NORTHERN TERRITORY

The Tiwi Islands, or the ‘Island of Smiles’, comprise two main islands – Bathurst and Melville, which are 80km (49 miles) north of Darwin.

Most of the residents are of Aboriginal descent and you’ll meet some of them on cultural and wildlife tours, says northernterritory.com.

It adds: ‘The people on Tiwi Islands are famous for their traditional lifestyle, stunning artworks, vibrant fabrics and textiles, plus an exuberant passion for football.’