Student death leaves University in shock

The Yale community remains baffled by the sudden death of 21-year-old Vladimir Voynikov, TD '02, on Tues., Sept. 1. But New Haven police familiar with the incident are closing in on the conclusion that the fall from apartment 11C of the University Towers Apartments on 100 York Street was indeed a suicide.

COURTESY OF YALE BANNER Vladimir Voynikov, TD '02

"From all that I know, I'm 99 percent certain that it was a suicide. No one just falls 11 stories," Lieutenant David Burleigh, an officer in the police's communications department, said.

How and why Voynikov, who lived in a dorm room in Timothy Dwight, entered the apartment building is still a mystery.

According to Burleigh, two girls, also Yale students, found Voynikov in their apartment at 9:20 p.m. when they returned from dinner. The silent intruder frightened the girls who immediately went to a neighbor's apartment and called the police.

At 9:50 p.m. the on-duty security guard at University Towers called the police again to say that he had found a body on the sidewalk. Police were upstairs at the time searching the girls' apartment for Voynikov, but he had already jumped. The guard, who wished to remain anonymous, stated on Thursday afternoon that he never saw Voynikov walk into the building. "It is one of the most terrifying events of my life," he said.

New Haven police are collaborating with Yale University police on the investigation, according to New Haven detective Edward Kendall. Voynikov reportedly had seemed tired and confused since his arrival at Yale. He did not attend most of the events scheduled for freshmen, including TD's freshman dinner on Monday night.

But according to Hristo Giochev, BR '02, Voynikov was in fine spirits when Giochev spoke to him eight hours before his death. "He was acting perfectly logically and normally," he said. Giochev hails from the same hometown as Voynikov and had met Voynikov a few months before the two set out for Connecticut.

In fact, Giochev doubts the police's conclusions. "I don't believe it was a suicide. [Voynikov] was a great person, very open, very caring, and he made friends with everyone."

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH Voynikov fell from an 11th floor balcony in University Towers.

The death sent shockwaves through the halls of TD students who were alerted of the death in a statement issued by Master Robert Thompson and Dean John Loge on Wednesday morning. The two also conducted a meeting for students to air their feelings on Wednesday afternoon. At the meeting, Thompson encouraged those dealing with grief to share their thoughts and try to deal with the event philosophically. Counselors from Mental Hygiene were on hand, and students expressed feelings of confusion and sadness. Voynikov was a freshman who had yet to attend a Yale class when he died. Many students were dismayed that they would never get a chance to know a student they had just met.

Thompson and Loge have refused to comment further until the police investigation is completed and Voynikov's freshman counselor, roommates and floormates have also been instructed not to speak yet.

Many of the other students living in TD entryway I with Voynikov said that they had never come into contact with him, but were horrified when they heard of his death. "TD is so closely knit that it makes it that much harder to lose someone. Even though I never got to know [Voynikov], it really makes me upset," Leah Dunay, TD '00, who lives on the floor below Voynikov's room, said.

A memorial service was held in Battell Chapel on Thurs., Sept. 3. About 40 people attended, including Voynikov's aunt, who lives in Atlanta.

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