This grainy image of a proud 16-year-old girl at her end-of-year school graduation is the last photo her parents took before she was raped and murdered and her body dumped in bushes.

Elizaveta Golovnya had been excitedly discussing the big plans that she had to continue her education and go to university, but hours later, her dead body was found by locals in Piatykhatky village in the Ukrainian Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in the early hours of the morning on 5th September.

The girl’s mother, Vitalina Golovnya, posted the last photo of Liza, taken on the eve of her death. She said: “Daughter. A tribute to your eternal memory.”

The picture shows Liza, as her family called her, with a graduation ribbon hanging over her shoulder that says “Graduate 2024, 11-A class”.

Elizaveta was with friends celebrating that evening and police are trying to piece together the circumstances of her death after her body was found outside the bushes of house no 147 on Pryvokzalna Street around 3 am.

One of her friends wrote on social media: “She was sensitive, decent, educated. There was nothing about her personality or anything that could have provoked such violence.

“She had her whole life ahead of her, but some hideous monster decided there was to be a tragic end for her.”

The friend added that reports of an unknown person molesting women in the village in the previous three months had been made to the police and had been ignored.

Residents of Piatykhatky also complained that the street lighting does not work in the village at night, making it even more unsafe.

Newsflash obtained a statement from the National Police of Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk region dated 5th September saying: “About 150 law enforcement officers are involved in the search for the attacker. They carry out all the necessary investigative and search measures aimed at establishing the circumstances of the event and detaining the perpetrator involved in the crime.

“On September 5, around 3:00 a.m., the body of a minor girl with injuries was found on the street in the bushes in Piatykhatky. Based on this fact, criminal proceedings have been opened under Clause 10, Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

“Police are working at the scene of the incident. Employees of the criminal analysis sector and operational services are also involved.

“The police are also studying video surveillance cameras, identifying potential witnesses and eyewitnesses to the crime. A number of examinations and other investigative actions have been appointed.”

The investigation is ongoing.