20 stabs in a minute: Teacher Natalia Tushinskaya murdered in Voronezh 5 years ago
On the evening of February 2, 2021, mathematics teacher Natalia Tushinskaya from Voronezh School No. 1 was returning home. At around 7:30 p.m., she was walking near the «Ritsa» cafe on Moskovsky Prospekt, talking on the phone with a physics teacher. The women were discussing work, but suddenly Natalia screamed: «I»m being attacked!« The call was cut off, and relatives and police who soon arrived at the scene found her body with multiple stab wounds.
As would later be revealed, the motive for the murder was robbery—although Natalia Tushinskaya only had 10,000 rubles (about $100 at current rates) on her.
20 stabs with a knife in a minute
Artem Selyutin is a native of Luhansk; he was 31 years old in 2021. As reported by Komsomolskaya Pravda, the man allegedly spent time in Moscow Region, Yelets, and Lipetsk before coming to Voronezh. At first he tried to earn money, and then on the road he begged for money from drivers who gave him rides. To get 200–300 rubles (about $2–3 at current rates), Selyutin played on pity: he told stories about fighting in the militia. All the money obtained this way he spent on alcohol and drugs. After Lipetsk, Selyutin arrived in Voronezh and got off near the «Sputnik» bus stop. He went into a «Magnit Kosmetik» store, bought a knife, and went in search of money. This was on February 2.
On his way, Selyutin encountered Natalia Tushinskaya. She was walking her usual route—on her way from school to home. She was talking on the phone with a colleague. The man first demanded that the teacher give him money, and when the woman replied that she had none, he attacked. Within a minute, the killer stabbed the teacher more than 20 times, 16 of which were fatal. The woman only managed to scream into the phone: «I»m being attacked!«
When the victim died, Selyutin took her phone and her bag containing documents, cosmetics, and 10,000 rubles. Only a bag with her students« notebooks was left at the crime scene, as reported by the publication MOYÖ! Online.
It would later be revealed: Natalia Tushinskaya was not Selyutin«s first victim. In January of the same 2021—just a couple of weeks before the murder in Voronezh—the Luhansk man and an accomplice brutally murdered a couple in the town of Irmino in the LPR (Luhansk People»s Republic). There, too, it all began with an attempted robbery.
Carnations and textbooks in the snow
The murder of the teacher shocked the entire city. The incident was commented on by city and regional authorities.
«This brazen murder has shaken our entire region. Significant forces of law enforcement agencies, the best detectives and investigators, are now focused on solving the crime. The monster who took a woman»s life, and took a loved one from her family, must be found and punished,« wrote Alexander Gusev, the Governor of the Voronezh Region.
People brought carnations, roses, and textbooks to the place where Natalia Tushinskaya was killed.
Hundreds of people came to her funeral on February 4. Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that people had to stand in a huge line because the «Severny» Cultural and Leisure Center, where the farewell was held, simply could not accommodate all those who had gathered.
«I apologize to the relatives for being such a monster»
After the murder, Selyutin left the Voronezh Region. Among other things, surveillance camera footage helped find him.
Selyutin was only detained on February 10 in the Rostov Region. He confessed to committing the crime, as reported by the Investigative Committee. He even showed where and how he killed the teacher.
Later, during the investigation, Selyutin tried to blame everything on «voices in his head,» according to RIA «Voronezh,» but an examination showed that the criminal had no mental health problems and was fully aware of his actions. At the trial, in the presence of his victim«s mother and daughter, Selyutin claimed otherwise. He insisted that drugs and alcohol were to blame for everything, saying he »didn«t want to fight with a woman.»
«If I hadn»t been ill, this wouldn«t have happened. I didn»t want to fight with a woman. But I injected drugs and drank... I«m finished. I apologize to the relatives for being such a monster!» the publication quoted the killer as saying.
A verdict for Artem Selyutin was delivered on March 21, 2022. The prosecutor requested a punishment of 23 years of imprisonment, but the court decided on 20 years in a strict-regime penal colony. «Vesti Voronezh» reported that Selyutin fainted when the verdict was announced.
Several years later, in December 2024, the Luhansk man received another sentence—life imprisonment—for the double murder in Irmino. The verdict was delivered in the LPR.
