Police are investigating the death of an elderly woman who collapsed at a supermarket in St. Petersburg, just weeks after another of the city's pensioner reportedly succumbed to heart failure after being accused by another area supermarket of stealing butter.
In the latest case, the retiree died by the checkout at a Pyatyrochka supermarket over the weekend, local news site Fontanka reported Sunday, adding that police were looking into the circumstances of her death.
The incident comes after an 81-year-old woman died at a police station in the nearby town of Kronstadt, after employees of another supermarket chain, Magnit, accused her of theft.
Prosecutors later said the allegations were unfounded, arguing that footage from the store's video cameras indicated that the pensioner had simply forgotten about the butter sitting in her shopping cart, but offered to pay as soon as employees noticed the package.
Amid a public backlash against Magnit, the supermarket's manager has been charged with negligent homicide, media reports said.
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