Deadly Love

For a twenty-five-year-old Vasily Gusev and a twenty-two-year-old Irina Zaitseva this Christmas (January 7th, 2004) was their last.

In the morning of January 7th, they both attended Church and by evening committed suicide. The reason was…..Love.

The happiest day

Both Irina's and Vasily's families can be entitled “normal”. Neither one of their parents was a drunk, both worked hard to earn substantial money, both lived in normal conditions. Vasily worked as a truck driver on one of the local asbestos plants. Irina attended some industrial college. Their friends comment that each one of them have been so fond of each other. They did everything together and could not live without each other. Nobody took the latter literally.

On January 7th both Irina and Vasily celebrated Christmas with friends. Their company included 3 guys and 3 girls. Almost all of them were from the same block and knew each other since childhood. Ladies, as it is commonly done, were participating in divination practices, while guys were peeping through the keyhole. Afterwards, all of them went to the nearest church, walked outside for a while, played snowballs. Finally, when they returned, a wonderful table with numerous dishes had been awaiting them. Overall, the atmosphere was remarkable. Everyone seemed carefree and happy.

A flight into nowhere

Today, even their close friends cannot remember the reason for a quarrel between Irina and Vasily. Some say that Vasily commented something negative about their mutual friend. Irina disagreed, while Vasily continued to insist… As a result, Irina exclaimed she did not want to pursue their relationship any longer and that she wanted to break up with her fiancй. Vasily begged for forgiveness but Irina remained imperturbable. So Vasily could not find another way to settle the matter than proposing an ultimatum to his beloved. He said that he will commit suicide in case Irina will not forgive him. His words were not taken seriously. Vasily however went to the kitchen, broke the window and jumped from the eighth floor.

To say that everyone was stunned will be equivalent of saying nothing at all. Nobody took Vasily's words seriously. Everyone looked out the window and noticed the young man lying in the ground. He was already dead but there were no traces of blood. His body rested peacefully on the snow.

The saddest story

Recovered from shock, the guys called for the “Ambulance.” However it was already too late. Nobody could help the poor fellow. Irina was still overwhelmed by what happened. Her friends noticed that she remained calm. After a few minutes, while everyone was still downstairs by the breathless body, Irina went back into the apartment. Nobody paid any attention at her disappearance.

“I looked her way in an attempt to offer her a glass of vodka to help her relax. Next thing I saw, Irina is jumping out of the same window. I tried to grab her by her legs but failed,” comments Anatoly.

Irina died in less than 15 minutes after Vasily. She landed next to her beloved. Her fall was not as graceful as his. The lady's grimace revealed all the pain she must have encountered. The “Ambulance” was still there and witnessed everything. Unfortunately, they could not save the girl. Her death was instantaneous.

“Both of the suicides occurred between 1:00am and 2:00am,” reports chief inspector of the Zavolzhsky region of Yaroslavl Irina Yurievna Pisareva. This is an on-going case. However, the reason will most likely be stated as “a quarrel based on personal matters.”

“What a terrible thing happened in my apartment,” says Anatoly. “I still cannot sleep at night. Nobody expected Vasya to jump for real. And Irina's death appears twice as bizarre. Why did they do it? They were not even drunk. Suicide is a terrible sin. It is all so horrible, since we all attended church that same day,” comments Anatoly.

The burial ceremony took place on Saturday. Many people were present.             
 
P.S. Today, the place of the couple's death is decorated with flowers. A piece of broken glass lies right next to them. Whether it was left there on purpose or not, remains unclear, but it serves as a reminder of what happened on Christmas Eve.