Russian news agencies quoted unnamed sources on July 11 as saying that Mikhail Khachaturyan was being investigated on suspicion of torturing and sexually assaulting his daughters. The information has not been officially confirmed.

Lawyers for Khachaturyan's three daughters say evidence against him has been filed, but the decision about launching a criminal case against him will be made after consultations with his relatives.

Russian laws allow charging deceased individuals.

Khachaturyan's daughters -- Maria, Angelina and Krestina -- have been kept under limited house arrest and subjected to various restrictions since their 57-year-old father was found dead in his apartment in July 2018. His body bore evidence of violence.

The women, aged 17, 18, and 19, respectively, have confessed to using a knife and a hammer to murder him and face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

An official indictment was issued against the sisters on June 14. The document, a redacted version of which was made public in a Facebook post by Angelina's lawyer, Aleksei Parshin, says that the women were regularly subjected to sexual abuse and humiliation by their father.

The trial of the Khachaturyan sisters has received broad coverage in the Russian private and state media as well as in the international media, and has fueled a lively debate on domestic abuse following the 2017 introduction of a law decriminalizing most forms of battery.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax