A bungee jump instructor has been sentenced to prison in Kazakhstan after a woman tragically fell 100 feet to her death in front of her husband.
Instructor Alexander Muznikas, 33, was handed down the sentence on October 10, 2021, for the death of Yevgenia Leontyeva, 33, at a rope-jumping attraction in the Kazakh city of Karaganda.
Muznikas - who was sentenced for offering services that did not meet safety regulations and causing death by negligence - said he rejects the prosecution’s accusations against him.
According to the Russian language news site, EKaraganza.kz, Muznikas said he had never intended to cause any harm and certainly didn't feel he was responsible for Leontyeva's death.
In the harrowing video, Leontyeva is seen leaping from the rooftop, hitting the ground, and then blasting into an iron fence.
Her rope was tied to a crossline that was supposed to break her fall leaving her hovered above the ground, however, it was not secured or failed to hold her.
Per the Daily Mail, witnesses at the scene said Yevgenia had appeared frightened prior to the jump and that they heard Muznikas encouraging her to still do it.
As reported by the New York Post, Muznikas also took aim at the fact he was the only person on trial for her death, even though he said there were other employees working that day.
Leontyeva’s husband, Alexander Tkachenko, emotionally described how he witnessed her fall to her death.
In the distressing footage, Tkachenko can be heard shouting "I love you" to his wife in Russian, seconds before her body hits the pavement, which is followed by cries from horrified spectators.
Leontyeva fatally suffered a serious skull fracture and brain injuries, and multiple broken bones on the right side of her body. She was taken for a medical emergency but died from her injuries.
Speaking outside the courthouse, the widower insisted that his wife’s death was the fault of workers running the rope-jumping place.
Leontyeva leaves behind her husband and three sons, ages 8, 11, and 12, one of whom the couple had taken in after the death of a relative.
