Dimitri Diatchenko is best known for playing menacing Russian heavies, including bit parts in Sons Of Anarchy and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Or more accurately, he was best known for those things, before being charged with allegedly killing, skinning, cooking, and eating his ex-girlfriend’s pet rabbit.
Although no longer romantically linked, Diatchenko and his ex continued to share a North Hollywood residence for months. The crimes occurred shortly after his ex-girlfriend recommended he find somewhere else to live, upsetting Diatchenko. Testing the definition of “alleged,” Diatchenko “allegedly” documented his revenge, sending his ex-girlfriend step-by-step photos that detailed the entire grisly process. Perhaps concerned his ex would overlook the nuanced subtext of these photos, Diatchenko “allegedly told her he would do the same to her,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Since then, Diatchenko has insisted that the whole thing was just a hoax. “This is all a misunderstanding. We got into an argument, but I didn’t kill the bunny,” Diatchenko told KCAL. Instead, he says he purchased rabbit meat elsewhere, then freed the pet bunny—named Ella—so his ex-girlfriend would think he’d eaten it.
KCAL also spoke to a woman who claims she is that ex-girlfriend, and who said that, while she had initially called the police when she couldn’t find Ella, eventually the rabbit turned up in her closet. “This is just all ridiculous. Completely untrue. Everybody’s fine. The bunny’s fine. Nothing happened to her. She’s at my house,” she said. (KCAL notes the woman declined to provide any photos of Ella to prove that she was fine.) Nevertheless, Diatchenko still faces felony counts of animal cruelty and making criminal threats, and could serve up to four years and eight months in prison if convicted. He’s due in court on Dec. 30.
Comparisons are already being drawn to Fatal Attraction, where Glenn Close’s character boils the pet rabbit of her lover’s daughter. Of course, in Fatal Attraction, Close’s jilted mistress never eats the rabbit, and she doesn’t stupidly incriminate herself with photos.