Voronezh teacher jailed for stabbing abusive husband
Our colleague from VORONEZH1.RU Tatyana Telpis tells the story of a family drama that left three children without parents.
On 24 May 2025, Natasha* published a photo on her personal social media page: she is smiling, with burning eyes, a glimpse of a bare knee, and a red rose at her lips. This same shot became her profile picture.
The last photo on the page — a cat curled up in a ball with the caption «My barometer predicted a cold snap» — is from 14 June of the same year. Between them, there was also a strange repost from a community of «magicians, sorcerers, and witches,» but it has since been deleted. I was surprised: among her subscriptions — amid pages with recipes, jokes, and mom sites — there are several «family-astropsychological» ones. A mother of many children, a teacher with higher education — and «astrological attachments» and «how to hook a man by zodiac sign»? But the further this story unravels before me, the more everything falls into place: there, at the bottom.
Less than a month will pass. On 10 July, one of Voronezh«s district courts will call Natasha a murderer who stabbed her husband Igor* twice with a knife, sentence her to six years in a standard-regime colony, and order her to pay the victim»s relatives half a million rubles (approximately $5,000 at current rates) in «moral damages.» Natasha will be handcuffed and sent to a pre-trial detention center. Outside, there will be hellish heat — +33°C (91°F).
***
On 3 December 2025, the regional court upheld the district court«s decision: it rejected the appeals of Natasha and her lawyer, and the sentence became legally effective the same minute. Three children — hers and Igor»s, two schoolchildren and a kindergarten-age child — were left without both father and mother.
Natalya Fomina is 41 years old, a teacher. For no one — neither the investigation nor the court — was it a secret that the deceased Igor drank and beat Natalya. That evening on 27 January 2024, he was again not just drunk — in an almost unconscious state — and also hit her. Fomina and her lawyer insisted: she was defending herself and exceeded the limits of necessary self-defense. The punishment for that is much less: a maximum of two years, and imprisonment is more the exception. Plus, if there are children under 14, the article allows for a deferral of the sentence.
Fomina«s case was considered by four judges (one in the district, three in the regional panel) — two of them women. Both prosecutors — women. Natalya — a mother of many children and a victim of her victim — was not spared.
Guardianship over the children was arranged by her 72-year-old disabled mother; the defense plans to complain further — to the cassation court.
Beginning of the End
They married when she was 23, he a bit older. A lovestruck girl-teacher and a railway institute graduate. That they had no housing of their own and the mother-in-law didn«t particularly like the son-in-law — for whom is that an obstacle? After the killing, Natalya»s mother — herself a former teacher — will tell journalists that they wandered from corner to corner for a long time, and only got an apartment when the second child was born. According to the mother-in-law, «largely thanks to Natalya,» apparently, the teacher status helped. With children, it didn«t work out for long. And Igor started drinking, according to the mother-in-law, soon after the birth of the second child: the baby almost died, the son-in-law blamed Natalya for everything — and went off the rails. She says her daughter even complained that he was ready to kill her.
«Soon after the birth of the second child» — that«s over 10 years ago. The beginning of the wild tragedy — there. The further it went, the harsher Igor»s drinking binges became — and the stronger his fists. He didn«t touch the children — he took his madness out on her. In 2014, they divorced. Only Natasha didn»t kick out the beloved tyrant, didn«t gather up her son and daughter in her arms, didn»t slam the door, saving herself and them from drunken fights. And no one made her see reason. No one ran to the police, to the Investigative Committee: children in danger. Although her mother and colleagues now say they saw bruises on her, that he fought and smashed everything in the apartment, Natasha even showed someone a clump of hair he ripped out — everyone knew everything.
The drinking he and the suffering she continued to live together as a full family, having a third child.
From the appeal ruling of the Voronezh Regional Court:
«After drinking alcohol, he became aggressive, applied violence to her, could hit her in the face a couple of times. Despite appeals to the police, she always forgave him, as he was a good person, provided help to her and the children. Due to the fact that (Igor. — Ed.) periodically consumed alcohol, the marriage between them was dissolved, but then they began living together again, as she loved him.»
Classic. Natasha would cover up another bruise and cry on her friend«s shoulder: »We have a special bond — we are wedded!« Into the materials of her criminal case for murder, the investigator will later attach Igor»s written promise where he vows to get coded and mend his ways. And all this madness — in front of three children.
The problem is that Natasha not only «endured and forgave.» She periodically drank together with her «special one.» At any rate, on the eve of the killing, for sure.
Heart and Liver Pierced
Testimony of Natalya Fomina from the district court«s verdict:
«On 26.01.2024, they together with (Igor) were at home at the address <...>, consumed alcoholic beverages in the kitchen, the children were also at home. Around 9:30 PM on 26.01.2024, (Igor) got dressed and left home. Where <...>, she does not know; it seemed to her that he got drunk again and »flipped out,« unreasonably jealous of her. She went to sleep around 10:00 PM on 26.01.2024. The children also went to sleep, as they have a sleep schedule and go to bed around the same time. Around 4:00 AM on 27.01.2024, (Igor) returned home heavily intoxicated and went to sleep. He woke up <...>, probably at 8:00 AM on 27.01.2024, and after that immediately began behaving inappropriately, woke her and the children, continued drinking beer. Due to (Igor»s) behavior, she and the children had to leave home to wait until he calmed down. She dressed the youngest child, and they left to accompany the middle daughter to a classmate«s birthday party. The eldest son went out with friends and then stayed at his grandmother»s.«
From the appeal ruling of the Voronezh Regional Court:
«Around 12:30 PM, she returned home with her youngest son, who then was in the far room. After 3:00 PM, (Igor) in the kitchen continued drinking beer, and she settled on the sofa in another room. At some point, (Igor) came into the room, under a far-fetched pretext pulled her from the sofa to the floor, and punched her in the chin. She was talking on the phone with her friend <...> at that time. Feeling severe pain and fearing that (Igor) would continue beating her, she ran to the kitchen, as she could not exit the apartment (the door handle was broken. According to Natalya»s mother, Igor broke it. — Ed.). In the kitchen, she took a knife from the holder, and since she had nowhere else to run, decided to scare (Igor) with it. She held the knife by the handle with the blade down. At that time, (Igor) ran into the kitchen, took a glass and a plastic bottle of beer with a volume of 1.5 liters from the table. Approaching her, he in a swing hit her on the head with the bottle tangentially. In response, she once struck (Igor) with the knife in the chest area, after which he sank to the floor and turned purple. Realizing that the latter was dying, she called an ambulance and began giving him artificial respiration, but (Igor) stopped showing signs of life. She had no intent to kill (Igor).«
High relations in an intelligent teacher«s family with three children. The scandal that day happened over some coat that Igor couldn»t find. There were two knife blows, as experts established; the liver and heart were affected; the fatal one was an open chest wound with damage to the heart; the length of the wound on the front surface of the chest approached 16 centimeters (6.3 inches).
After the verdict, Natalya«s mother will tell journalists that on 25 January 2024, it was her son-in-law»s birthday, and from then on he «didn»t sober up,« and on the 27th, around four in the afternoon, her daughter called her with the words: »I stabbed Igor with a knife.« A medical examination for alcohol was conducted on Natasha only the day after the killing — the test was negative. Just a day later — on 29 January — she was released from pre-trial detention on a pledge not to leave, despite the charge of intentional murder. The alcohol concentration in Igor»s corpse blood was 4.69 per mille — 15.63 times more than the level at which one can drive: comatose.
Why Her Charge Was Not Mitigated
Six years in a colony — the minimum term for intentional murder. Among the bonuses — mitigating circumstances included Natasha«s positive references with certificates and gratitude, children, care for a disabled mother of group 2, calling 112 immediately after committing the crime, and the »unlawful behavior« of the victim. During interrogation by the investigator and at the investigative experiment, Natalya admitted that she stabbed her ex-husband from top to bottom in the left chest area — and showed exactly how. During a pathopsychological examination, she said:
«(Igor) started picking on me, we started arguing, he approached me, grabbed my left arm, hit me in the jaw, I fought back with my legs, hit him in the genital area. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. He swung and threw a beer bottle at me, after which I rushed at him and stabbed him in the chest. I remember the blow vaguely, I remember that I rushed at him. After that, he slid to the floor.»
But. In court, she recanted these statements. Insisted on forced self-defense and that she did not strike Igor with the blade, but pushed him away, defending herself and her son — she did not wish his death. The defense pressed that Natasha was interrogated immediately on the night after the killing, then dragged to the «experiment.» According to the lawyers, all confessions about the knife strike and its mechanism were essentially squeezed out by psychological pressure, and nothing else interested the investigator. The examination that found Natasha fully sane, without «accumulation of emotional tension with perception of the situation as hopeless,» was not conducted in a hospital, and as a result, the preliminary investigation ended in a record two months, ticking the box for a solved particularly serious crime.
The court wrapped up the arguments: domestic drunken brawls — everything is obvious. The judicial investigation in the district, however, stretched over a year and three months; out of nine hearings, all nine were postponed; on the tenth — the verdict. But with the court«s logic, in my opinion, it»s hard to argue. I quote the appeal ruling — you can«t take words out of a song:
«Despite the dissolution of the marriage in 2014 and domestic conflicts between them on the grounds of the latter»s alcoholism, until the criminal event they continued to live together with the children in one residential premises and run a joint household. The convicted person did not take any active actions to prevent (Igor) from being in her apartment, and consequently, from applying domestic violence to her, just as she did not take steps to bring the deceased to legal responsibility. On the contrary, as the guilty party explained, she loved (Igor), considered him a positive person providing help to her and the children. Moreover, on the evening before the incident, they together consumed alcoholic beverages, intending the next day to go to the victim«s mother to congratulate her on her birthday.»
The court also emphasized that there were two knife blows, not one, including in the area of vital organs. That even on that day — 27 January 2024 — when dead-drunk Igor once again let his hands loose, she did not call the police, did not flee the house with the child. Yes, in those minutes he threatened to «nail her.» But the potential danger from a blow with a plastic bottle — even half-full — is not commensurate with the threat from a blade 33.5 centimeters long. The injuries that Igor inflicted on Natasha minutes before the killing were considered by experts not dangerous to life and health.
Dry facts, no emotions in the logic of the law. Although, if there were a jury, the outcome — I don«t exclude — could have been different.
Instead of an Afterword
On Natalya«s personal social media page, there are many photos: from 2017 — about three hundred. Children, children, her with children, children. At home, in cafes, on excursions, at the sea, gifts, toys. Children — pride, children — joy and her meaning.
Photos with Igor together — not a single one. There are only four shots — him with one of the children, and one of them Natasha posted several months after the killing. Her friend later told journalists that Natasha confessed to her: it«s hard, you know, without him — she misses him.
After the verdict, Natalya«s and Igor»s relatives poured buckets of dirt on each other through the media, proving that they love their joint children very much. Only for over 10 years, everything suited everyone — for some reason.
The key to this story is in the prosecutor«s words, which were later disseminated by the press: Natalya did not have a state of long-term psychological trauma because she adapted to such a life.
I«ll tell you more. When on that last day he chased her around the house drunk, she — remember? — was talking on the phone with a friend. In court, this friend — a colleague — confirmed that she heard everything. Natalya»s mother in court will say: shortly before the call with the message «I stabbed,» her daughter also called her — complaining that he was chasing her. Neither the friend nor the mother raised the police. The neighbors, of course, also heard nothing unusual.
***
I have no doubt that Natalya Fomina will be released on parole. And I am sure that the mill of our penitentiary system will not grind her down. Although there is cassation ahead, and the story may still turn around. We will return to the topic of domestic violence and overcoming this fatal «family matter, no need to complain, and we won»t interfere.« For now — encouraging.
On 22 January, the Investigative Committee reported that in Krasnodar Krai, they are conducting a check for signs of torture and death threats after a local resident published an online video appeal to Alexander Bastrykin — her son-in-law systematically applies violence to her daughter and little granddaughter, during a recent quarrel he brutally beat her, the police are inactive. Bastrykin instructed his Krasnodar colleagues not to stand on ceremony with «checks» and to open a criminal case with a report on his desk.
* Personal data of the publication«s heroes have been changed.
