Colleagues of Irina Voropaeva, who was found guilty of driving her stepson to suicide, have characterized her as a severe and uncompromising individual. These descriptions are detailed in recently disclosed court documents from Moscow.
During the court proceedings, medical professionals who had previously worked with Voropaeva, a cardiologist, were questioned. One witness described her as “a harsh, abrupt, categorical, confrontational, and demanding person towards her employees.”
“Voropaeva was always convinced of her own rectitude, did not tolerate alternative viewpoints, acted solely based on her convictions, and did not acknowledge the authority of her superiors,” state excerpts from a colleague`s testimony cited in the case files.
Another medical professional testified that Voropaeva could be “described as a persistent individual whose opinion was not to be challenged.”
The Court Verdict and Appeals
Earlier, Moscow`s Troitsky District Court sentenced Irina Voropaeva to 4.5 years in a penal colony, while her husband and the biological father of the deceased teenager received 3.5 years. Both were convicted of inciting a minor to suicide by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy (parts `a`, `g` of Article 110, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This ruling was the outcome of the second trial, after the initial verdict (9 years for Voropaeva and 8.5 for her husband) was overturned by the appellate court due to procedural violations.
The latest sentence was challenged by both the prosecution, which deemed it too lenient, and the convicted parties, who insisted on its illegality due to alleged court errors. However, the Moscow City Court, in mid-September, rejected all appeals, upholding the sentence, which has now entered into legal force.
Background of the Tragedy
According to media reports, the teenager lost 21 kilograms under his stepmother Voropaeva`s strict weight loss program. He reportedly complained to classmates that his parents subjected him to intense physical exercises and threatened to send him to an orphanage. The tragedy occurred in October 2019. It was noted that the boy`s biological mother had passed away several years before his suicide.
