Brides Website Changes Man's Life...

[peejay 327]

Brides website changed life of man awaiting sentencing in death plot

By Cindy Horswell

Updated 12:40 a.m., Monday, August 27, 2012

David Sartin, a rather quiet and unassuming man, was living alone in an old manufactured home on a 3-acre plot in Hankamer, about 25 miles east of Houston. The 49-year-old's only scrape with the law had been a single traffic ticket - until he visited a "dream marriage" website that boasted the "hottest Russian brides."

Now he finds himself sitting in a jail cell, waiting to be sentenced after pleading guilty last week in Beaumont to attempted kidnapping and brandishing a firearm in connection with a bizarre murder-for-hire plot involving a Ukrainian blonde half his age.

The scheme involved abduction, lead poisoning and a fortified room that Sartin added onto his home where he allegedly planned to imprison his would-be wife.

Before his life spun out of control, the small-framed man was living thriftily. His only income came from a disability check following two surgeries on his back which he injured while installing loading dock equipment, relatives said.

Then three years ago, Sartin clicked on a website that described itself as the spot to meet "beautiful Russian women and sexy Ukrainian brides to be." It said it was designed for those seeking true love with "Western men."

Sartin was attracted to one particular friendly blonde, Elena Barykina, authorities said.

His 73-year-old father, Cecil, a retired insurance agent in Dayton, said he warned his son to be leery of the promises of love and marriage.

"But my son was lonely, and she was prettier and could talk sweeter than me," the father said. "This is an industry, a business to the girls who post their pictures there."

$15,000 in jewelry

Over the course of the next two years, David Sartin's passport indicated he made a half dozen trips to visit her.

Sartin later writes on a website about showering her with $15,000 in jewelry, including a diamond wedding set. He also tells of spending thousands more taking her on lavish trips across Europe, giving her funds for living and school expenses and paying for photo shoots and record productions to jump start her singing career (clips of her singing were posted on YouTube).

The money apparently came from about $400,000 he gained from a divorce settlement in 2006. His ex-wife, Betty Sartin, who was married to him for 11 years, said she had to split her retirement fund with him that she'd accumulated while working at Mobil. "I was 13 years older than him, and he played me for a fool. Now he's met somebody a little smarter than him," she said.

Sartin later writes on a website for reporting Internet scams that he treated his dream girl like a princess but then found out she was anything but his dream girl.

While Sartin said he and Barykina had refrained from sex until marrying, he wrote that he had discovered she had a Russian boyfriend.

Barykina could not be reached for comment.

After the betrayal, Sartin wrote he felt suicidal. "She is a very clever person," he wrote. "How low can a person be, to betray and use the love of a man for her financial gain. This is a very dangerous game she is playing."

His father doesn't believe his son ever truly wanted to kill Barykina, as investigators allege. "He just wanted to get her over here so he could sue her," he said. "And in the back of his heart, I think he was still hoping they might have a life together."

Conversations taped

But an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives described a much more sinister plot.

Taped conversations in January and February detail how Sartin agreed to pay $50,000 for the agent to abduct Barykina - described as a "package" that could be "shipped in a crate." He stated he would then personally "take care of her," through "lead poisoning."

He told the agent that Barykina had cheated him. He also suggested he might later want to "eliminate" her Russian boyfriend, too, according to court records.

Then on March 6, Sartin purchased supplies he used to build a fortified room onto his trailer and paid the $25,000 down payment for the kidnapping, records said.

He stated he wanted to get "at least get a week out of her" before her demise, court records show.

Arrested in Beaumont

Two weeks later, Sartin went to a hardware store parking lot in Beaumont where he expected Barykina to be turned over to him.

Instead he was arrested by federal agents, said federal prosecutor Joe Batte. An envelope with the final $25,000 installment, handcuffs, stun gun and a pistol were recovered during a search of Sartin and his truck.

Sartin's neighbors were stunned by his arrest.

"We'd had him over for dinner a few times and invited him to our children's birthday parties," said Sarah Sharp, who lives next door.

"He kind of kept to himself but was very sweet. Once he mentioned having a girl over there that he loved very much. He never realized she was a gold digger. I guess love is blind," she said.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Brides-website-changed-life-of-man-awaiting-3816795.php

[baron555 934]

PT was right! Smart girl !

[1HappyGuy 45]

Smart girl but he was a really stupid guy. Now most of us know about various scams, but generally the guy begins to wise up and gets away from the whole thing. It seems like this guy was out for revenge in a major way.

I think this guy deserves all that he got and will get.

[baron555 934]

Smart girl but he was a really stupid guy. Now most of us know about various scams, but generally the guy begins to wise up and gets away from the whole thing. It seems like this guy was out for revenge in a major way.

I think this guy deserves all that he got and will get.

Yep, Mother Nature provides.......these weak men are made for the scammers.....they are made for each other. It's Nature's Way (humming to Spirit...!!!)

[Brad and Vika 129]

they are made for each other. It's Nature's Way (humming to Spirit...!!!)

This one definitely cuts both directions. It plays both to the stories we read often about scammers and abuse. We see loads of stories about guys chasing women half way around the globe, sending money, etc. to find that she never intended to have a life with that guy. In Eastern Europe they see stories about old, crazy guys with no social skills shopping for young girls that are abused, or even killed. I could see this story translated and appearing on both sides of the lake.

[baron555 934]

This one definitely cuts both directions. I could see this story translated and appearing on both sides of the lake.

For sure for sure. The VJ forums in Russia are chock full of these types of stories and warnings to the ladies. My wife was being contacted daily with expressions of interest and she has told me quite a few interesting stories of what some of the guys were asking.....to call them sex maniacs is being gentle!!

[1HappyGuy 45]

I think a lot of it comes from stereo typing and misconceptions. I know that a segment of the population believe that women everywhere are willing to do anything to come to America with its streets lined in gold. Of course, the other misconception is that they are submissive women. :rofl: When it comes to RUB women that really cracks me up.

It is stuff like that, that keeps guys trying to find the drop dead gorgeous woman that will be their wife and sex slave. Maybe these guys need to come into the light and see if what they are looking for really exists. Now that being said, it does not mean that many of us don't have hot looking wives and enjoy a terrific sex life. But a lot of other things come into place before that happens. I think the primary item is that we guys can't be idiots.

[Hammer2722 2]

There is some truth to the saying: "And the stupid shall be punished!!!!!"

[slim 1,514]

Just because it's on the internet doesn't make it some magical, mystical experience. It should be no different than dating a girl next door.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

I feel sorry for his ex-wife who had half her retirement taken away and given to this guy so he could fully engage in his stupidity.

[Brad and Vika 129]

I feel a rant coming on

For sure for sure. The VJ forums in Russia are chock full of these types of stories and warnings to the ladies. My wife was being contacted daily with expressions of interest and she has told me quite a few interesting stories of what some of the guys were asking.....to call them sex maniacs is being gentle!!

I have heard a few tales as well, though not from the wife. I met a woman from Odessa once, that married a guy who worked nights. She met him a couple of times, brought her son here trusting him, and wound up trapped in the country with no vehicle, limited English, and no husband unless she wanted to sleep during the day. When she told him after a couple of years (right before LOC) that she couldn't continue to live like that, he dropped her and her son off in front of a police station and told her they would help her. The shelter she wound up in helped her with LOC and divorce. She cleans houses now.

Now I only got her side of the story, but it is the kind of stuff retold as a warning back in Ukraine, Vika says. Something like "that smart city girl with the child psych degree married a guy overseas, and look what happened. You have lived your whole life in this village, are you crazy?".

I think a lot of it comes from stereo typing and misconceptions. I know that a segment of the population believe that women everywhere are willing to do anything to come to America with its streets lined in gold. Of course, the other misconception is that they are submissive women. :rofl: When it comes to RUB women that really cracks me up.

It is stuff like that, that keeps guys trying to find the drop dead gorgeous woman that will be their wife and sex slave. Maybe these guys need to come into the light and see if what they are looking for really exists. Now that being said, it does not mean that many of us don't have hot looking wives and enjoy a terrific sex life. But a lot of other things come into place before that happens. I think the primary item is that we guys can't be idiots.

There can be some misunderstanding, and I also think that there is a fair amount of fantasy marketing involved sometimes - for men and women. The unfortunate, the lonely, the bitter, are all told that the relationship and the family they have always dreamed about is just around the corner. Whatever your interest, we have the perfect match, and for a mere $6,000 we will take you there, trim your nails, shine your shoes, and make the intro. We will even provide some one to help you talk to each other! What could possibly go wrong?

Just because it's on the internet doesn't make it some magical, mystical experience. It should be no different than dating a girl next door.

Oh sure it is, because.... well because. Sure, fat old bald guys never fall in love with swimsuit model home makers here, but over THERE, it happens all the time. And for a trivial $400 per month....

Again, I think what I wrote above applies to women as well as men, and there is no right or wrong way to meet your better half. I totally get that the intro services (virtual and brick n' mortar) are businesses, and sometimes have well intentioned people behind them. The more I hear, the more cruel I think the marketing can be sometimes though.

Rant over, sorry.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Brad and Vika

[baron555 934]

I only paid $99 for my wife and selected her from an online catalog......Scout's truth !!

[Brad and Vika 129]

I only paid $99 for my wife and selected her from an online catalog......Scout's truth !!

I don't doubt you Phil. I also know that to be about 3% of your story From all you have written here over the years, I doubt there was much fantasy marketing involved. Feel free to correct me.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Brad and Vika

[MikeAndIryna 0]

.

It is stuff like that, that keeps guys trying to find the drop dead gorgeous woman that will be their wife and sex slave...

Not that ANYONE ever deserves this kind of treatment, on either side of the relationship, but they were both wrong.

Here is a link to her YouTube video - she looks like a Frog.

Ribbitt.

[slim 1,514]

married a guy who worked nights. She met him a couple of times, brought her son here trusting him, and wound up trapped in the country with no vehicle, limited English, and no husband unless she wanted to sleep during the day. When she told him after a couple of years (right before LOC) that she couldn't continue to live like that, he dropped her and her son off in front of a police station and told her they would help her. The shelter she wound up in helped her with LOC and divorce. She cleans houses now.

Now I only got her side of the story, but it is the kind of stuff retold as a warning back in Ukraine, Vika says. Something like "that smart city girl with the child psych degree married a guy overseas, and look what happened. You have lived your whole life in this village, are you crazy?".

My wife and I had a similar situation when she arrived here. However, I was upfront with her (as I'm sure this guy was) and yet she chose to come anyway.

Life may not be perfect for the couple but they have to choose how to make it better. My wife decided while I was sleeping during the day, she'd go to work. Eventually, she saved up enough money to buy a car. Once she got a car, she got a different (and better) job and she made herself happy without me.

The effort has to come from both sides. If one person is unhappy, it's typically their fault. Only you can make yourself happy, and if you're not happy... whose fault is that?

The more I hear, the more cruel I think the marketing can be sometimes though.

Buyer beware.

If people are too shallow to see through the marketing, that's their own fault. I'm not arguing the marketing is cruel, but common sense should tell you it could be too good to be true. Anyone who doesn't have common sense is going to have problems, and probably in more than just their relationships!