17 stab wounds is a very messy and unprofessional way to eliminate a person. So, three theories (non-exclusive):
1. Another lame attempt to put blame on Putin.
2. 17 wounds would make identification more difficult, and they would not check DNA —> Vovk is alive, Brandon wants to keep her for another day.
3. But then, anything Brandon does is messy and unprofessional...
There is a picture of her complete with blood on the site I linked.
I equate the vicious 17 stabs to how much anger Russians had about her heinous crime. Russian troops have been marking every rocket or missile they are firing with tributes to Daria.
And they didn’t take the body. They left it to be found. There is a message in that for Ukraine.