In April 1918 Nicholas was ordered to go to the mining city of Yekaterinburg, Alexandra and Maria went with him and left the other four children behind. Olga was ill and Aleksey had injured himself and could not travel. When Aleksey was well enough to travel the children were sent to meet their parents and Maria in Yekaterinburg. Trusted servants helped the girls sew gems into their clothes.
The imperial family was imprisoned at Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, where they occupied the second floor--five rooms for twelve people. A high fence enclosed the house and the windows were painted white. The family had no privacy; the guards were cruel to the prisoners and even followed the girls into the bathroom. The family spent the time as best they could by reading the Bible, praying and singing hymns. Nicholas read while Alexandra and the girls knitted or embroidered and Aleksey played with toys in his bed. Nicholas and Alexandra were very open with the children on the dangers they faced and they all trusted their fate to God.
On the night of July 16/17, 1918 the family, along with servants and the family doctor, were herded into the basement to be executed. In the first round of firing Anastasia's parents, Olga, Doctor Botkin, and two servants died immediately. Aleksey, lying on the floor in his father's arms, was shot in the head. The diamonds and other jewels sewn into Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia's clothes acted as armor against the bullets, but eventually Tatiana and Maria died. A maid who did not die from the gunshots was bayoneted and by some accounts Anastasia was also bayoneted many times. There is much confusion about how Anastasia died and some people believe that she did not die in the massacre.
The assassins of the imperial family tried to cover up the evidence of the murders. The corpses were thrown down a mineshaft and grenades were tossed in after them. The corpses were removed from the mineshaft; some were burned and others were doused with acid. The remains were thrown into a pit and buried. The remains of Aleksey and one of the grand duchesses were never found.