A YORK schoolgirl has been gunned down with her parents in a mafia-style contract killing in Moscow.

Staff and students at St Peter's School are shocked and stunned by the drive-by killing of 15-year-old boarder Lisa Slesareva who had returned home to Russia during the half-term break.

She was travelling in a Mercedes with her mother Natalia and banker father Alexander when the vehicle was sprayed with gunfire from a passing car, killing her parents.

Lisa was wounded and taken to hospital, where she later died, while her young sister is reported to have survived.

An Audi containing a Makarova pistol and Kalashnikov automatic weapon was later discovered burned out.

St Peter's headmaster Richard Smyth said today that pupils and staff at the public school had been "deeply shocked" by the death of Lisa, who was studying for her GCSEs.

He said the parents of girls who lived in her boarding house had been contacted at home and given the bad news before they returned to school earlier this week.

He said Lisa's death was the primary focus of a service held when pupils returned to school on Monday, and a special memorial service would be held in the chapel on Saturday.

Housemaster Matthew Grant said Lisa had been at St Peter's for only six weeks. "She had worked hard in the classroom, had settled well into the school, overcoming language difficulties, and she had begun to understand our culture," he said.

"Those who were close to her were aware she was reluctant to return home at half-term. She was happy at school and had some friends here. Her life in Moscow allowed her little freedom; indeed she had confessed that she was not looking forward to having to live with a bodyguard at her side."

He said Lisa would be missed by those who had known "this striking young woman," and missed even more by those who had not had time to become acquainted by her and who perhaps did not appreciate the circumstances of her home country.

"Her untimely death has left a hole in the lives of those alongside whom she existed," he said.

"This is a terrible waste of a young life and Lisa's peers will appreciate that as well as anyone else."

Mr Slesareva is reported to be the multi-millionaire former owner of a Russian bank, Sodbiznesbanka, which helped trigger a banking crisis last year when its licence was revoked by the Russian Central Bank on suspicion of laundering criminal funds.

Police are said by Russian media sources to suspect that his murder is connected to the bank fiasco, and that he may not have "fulfilled his banking obligations." Russia has been rocked since the downfall of Communism by a series of high-profile contract killings.

Pupils honour Lisa in service

STUDENTS and staff at St Peter's School will be paying their tributes to murdered pupil Lisa Slesareva at a special memorial service on Saturday.

Lisa's friends and the school's other boarders will celebrate her life in the service, which will be held at 12.15pm in the school chapel.

The school's chaplain, Rev Jeffrey Daly, will conduct the service.

The 15-year-old schoolgirl, from Russia, died in a mafia-style contract killing while travelling in a car with her parents in Moscow during the half-term break.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "The whole school is invited to attend, particularly the girls in the boarding house and those who shared the same classes as Lisa.

"The pupils have been very shocked and saddened by it and, given that she shared the boarding house with us during the time she was with us, some of the girls who lived with her have been very affected by it.

"We are just all very sad that such a bright young life has been ended in such a way."

Updated: 10:07 Friday, November 04, 2005