A police officer in a central Russian town faces trial after she refused to accept a complaint from a domestic violence victim who was being abused and bullied by a former lover.

The police said they would arrive only after she was killed in order to file an autopsy report. The woman died 40 minutes later.

The gruesome incident took place in the Central Russian city of Oryol last week. The 37-year-old man had a fight with his 36-year-old ex-girlfriend, allegedly due to a dispute over the couple’s common belongings. After the heated quarrel, during which the woman demanded that her former lover take his things and leave, he followed her to the car, violently kicked her, and then left, investigators say in a statement.

The woman eventually died of head injuries in hospital.

The grimmest details of her death surfaced this week when the woman’s relatives discovered audio recordings of her conversations with police prior to her murder.

It appeared that the woman called police to help her deal with her aggressive ex. Police arrived, some 40 minutes before the incident occurred. As the recording showed, the woman tried to persuade the female officer in charge of the brigade to help her.

The finale of the conversation was something that shocked the whole of Russia and inspired a prosecutors’ probe.

“Don’t call us anymore, we will not come to you,” said the officer.

“What do you mean, you will not come? What if something happens, will you come then?” the woman asked.

“Well of course, if he kills you, we will definitely come and inspect your corpse, don’t you worry,” the officer said sarcastically.

The police left shortly afterwards, and less than an hour later the woman was fatally beaten.

A criminal case was opened against the officer charged with negligence. She was dismissed from the service and may face up to five years behind bars.

A criminal case was also launched against the suspected assailant. He was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm that led to the woman’s death and faces 15 years in prison. The man has a criminal record.

It has been reported that he previously threatened his ex-girlfriend and acted aggressively. On one occasion he strangled her cat.