Ukrainian refugee murdered in North Carolina to be buried in St. George

SALT LAKE CITY — A Ukrainian refugee with ties to Utah was murdered in North Carolina on Valentine’s Day. Now, her family seeks to bring her body back to St. George.

Police said the bodies of 21-year-old Kateryna Tovmash and her 28-year-old boyfriend Matthew Wadewere found in a North Carolina home.

Hours later, Tovmash’s 25-year-old ex-boyfriend was arrested on suspicion of their murders.

Owen Arave, who met the Tovmash family while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 

Arave said the Tovmash family was living in Ukraine before the Russian invasion in 2022 and fled to the United States as refugees.

Following their escape from Ukraine, Arave said the Tovmash family divorced, with half of the family settling in St. George while the other half moved to North Carolina.

Arave said the family wanted to bury Kateryna in St. George, and launched a GoFundMe* with permission from her family to help pay for the cost of transporting Kateryna.

“This is a huge effort from hundreds of different people and lots of former missionaries who really care about them and their family,” Arave said.

At the time of publication, the fundraiser had reached over $25,000 of its $30,000 goal.

According to the fundraiser, all funds will go to the funeral to help cover expenses, as well as pay for transportation for her family and her body to St. George.

Arave said the funeral was scheduled for Feb. 28 in North Carolina. Following the funeral, she will be buried on March 4 in St. George.

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*KSL NewsRadio does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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