Godmother describes mother drowning five-year-old son in bathtub
The godmother of a child drowned in a bathtub in southern Moscow told MSK1.RU details of the tragedy. According to Lyubov, 46-year-old Alexandra Shalina systematically beat her five-year-old son.
The woman has two daughters from another marriage, aged 21 and 15. Originally from Yakutia, she previously lived with her children in Nizhny Novgorod Region, in the village of Diveyevo. She was married to 55-year-old Alexander Shalin for about four years. After their official divorce in 2020, the ex-spouses had a son. According to family friends, the father doted on the baby. Despite separating from his wife, he allowed her and her children from her first marriage to live in his house and provided for the family.
“The children lacked for nothing. He absolutely idolized his younger son, loved him so much that he bought everything that could be bought,” the godmother told MSK1.RU.
Alexander has two adult sons from his first marriage – Vadim and Stanislav. But on his page on VKontakte (VK), the man paid more attention to the younger child. He posted many photos with little Pasha, and his status read: “I love my son!”
It was Alexander who first noticed oddities in his ex-wife«s behavior. According to family acquaintances, the woman was fixated on spirituality and often went on religious tours abroad. They do not rule out that Alexandra Shalina might have been part of a sect.
“When the son was little, she went to Abkhazia. There, Alexandra burned the child«s documents and demanded money from her ex-husband. She threatened that if he didn»t do it, she would kill the son,” the godmother of the deceased child complained in a conversation with MSK1.RU.
As Lyubov notes, Alexander repeatedly appealed to the guardianship authorities to leave the upbringing of his son to him. But he failed to achieve this. And in early 2024, his ex-wife went to the police – allegedly, Alexander had been raping his teenage stepdaughter for five years. In the spring of that year, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for Nizhny Novgorod Region (SK) charged Alexander, and he ended up in a detention center (SIZO). During the hearings, Alexandra and her daughter stated that they wanted not only a prison term for him but also compensation of 40 million rubles (approximately $400,000 at current rates).
Parallel to this, Alexandra accused her ex-husband«s older son of beating: Stanislav was saved from a sentence only because there were cameras installed in the garage. Thanks to the video, it turned out that the woman had beaten herself with a hammer. But the court only fined Shalina for giving false testimony.
“Warning signs were already there, but neither the guardianship nor anyone listened to us. In court, we said that Alexandra was unstable. The lawyer asked to have her checked for sanity, but our requests were rejected. This is what it led to: the family fell apart, she destroyed everything,” Lyubov expresses indignation in a conversation with MSK1.RU.
According to the woman, Lyubov last saw her godson in the summer of 2024. And in 2025, Alexandra moved with the children to the capital, deciding to stay with a friend in Brateyevo.
“Pasha (name changed – Ed.) had a birthday, I invited myself over, saying: ‘Can I come, I«ll bring a gift.’ He turned three then,” the godmother told MSK1.RU. “I played with him a bit. Before that, the guardianship had come to them, we, relatives, tearfully asked for it. Alexandra was given two weeks to put the house in order. But she quickly, on the sly, packed up and left for Moscow.”
According to the woman, on January 24, investigators called Alexander«s son Stanislav. They informed him that his younger brother was dead. The guy immediately left for Moscow to retrieve the body – it was decided to bury the child in Diveyevo.
A criminal case on the murder of a minor (clause “v” of part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code) was initiated against Alexandra Shalina. During interrogation, she admitted guilt and said that she had long planned the killing because she did not want to raise the child. Now the woman faces up to 20 years in prison. The Nagatinsky Court sent Shalina to a detention center.
“I am in touch with the friend with whom Alexandra lived with the children. We exchange information: sometimes she learns something and tells me, sometimes I do. Previously, we fought: she defended Alexandra, and we defended Alexander. Now there is nothing more to divide with her: their side is sitting, and our side is sitting. There is no more division, and there is no child either,” Lyubov sighs in a conversation with MSK1.RU.
Earlier we reported what is known about 46-year-old Alexandra Shalina. All that is known about the cruel murder, we have collected in a separate article.
