Published: December 13, 2007

FCLC—Anastasiya Andreyeva, FCLC ’08, was charged with second-degree murder after she allegedly stabbed a man named Aleksey Kats, 30, to death in his Brooklyn apartment, according to various news reports. Following the incident, headlines and reports indicated that Andreyeva was psychologically troubled and involved in a sex triangle. Members of the Fordham community, however, say Andreyeva was a bright and serious student who appeared increasingly troubled in recent weeks.

On Nov. 25, Luke Teegarden, FCLC ’08, planned to meet with Andreyeva to prepare for a class presentation the next day. Teegarden said, however, that at around 5 p.m. he received a phone call from Andreyeva. “She told me she was in no condition to meet and had to go straight home,” Teegarden said. Early the next morning, at approximately 3 a.m., the murder took place.

According to the Fordham University statement regarding the incident, “The young woman being held by the New York City Police Department is a commuter student at Fordham University… At this difficult time, the Fordham University community offers its prayers for the victim, his family and the accused student.”

Kats lived with his wife Elina, according to The Daily News, who also reported that the couple and Andreyeva were involved in an ongoing sexual relationship.

Multiple reports have stated that Andreyeva has had a history of psychological problems and has been ordered by the Brooklyn Criminal Court to undergo psychological testing.

“I could never imagine or foresee anything like this happen[ing],” said Andreyeva’s friend of seven years, who is not a Fordham student and wished to remain anonymous. “Through all these years she never had any apparent psychological problems,” the woman wrote in an e-mail.  The friend also said that reports of the “ongoing triangle [are] not true.”

The friend added, however, that lately Andreyeva was acting abnormally. “She was reading a lot of philosophy and talking about Nietzsche a lot. She started to see ‘signs’, and the day before the incident she became really paranoid and delusional.”

William Jaworski, assistant professor of philosophy, had Andreyeva as a student in his Philosophy of Human Nature course in spring of 2005. “I’m as shocked about this as anyone,” he said. “I remember her being bright and enthusiastic about the subject if a bit over-serious.”

Andreyeva was on the Dean’s List this year, which honors students who had a 3.6 or above grade point average for the fall and spring semesters.

“Anastasiya Andreyeva is a brilliant scientist and an excellent artist,” said Joan Roberts, chair of the natural sciences department, who had Andreyeva in her Science in the Media course this past spring.

Teegarden recalled an incident that occurred three weeks prior to the murder when Andreyeva had an outburst during class and “went on a tirade about how she hated American apathy.”

“She asked angrily, ‘How many of you say you value human life?’ Everyone put their hand up. Then pointing to the flyer [for an anti-war protest], ‘How many of you went?’ No one put their hand up,” Teegarden said.

Keith Eldredge, dean of students at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), said, “While I am saddened by this tragedy for all involved, I am unable to comment due to keeping the confidentiality of the student.”

On Nov. 12, a week after Andreyeva’s initial outburst in class, she abruptly stood up in class, interrupting a presentation that was in progress, and wrote on the board, “I AM GOD,” according to Teegarden. Shortly after, Andreyeva was removed from the classroom.

Approximately 45 minutes later, Andreyeva was escorted out of the Lowenstein building by paramedics, according to Angelica Brunetti, FCLC ’08, who witnessed the scene first-hand. Teegarden said she did not return to class after that day.

“One of [Andreyeva friend’s] was calling to Anastasiya, but she didn’t even look towards her,” Brunetti said. “She looked totally out of it.”

According to the university statement, “Fordham will offer counseling services to any students who wish to speak with someone about this situation. The university is cooperating with the NYPD investigation and all inquiries should be directed to the detectives of the 61st precinct in Brooklyn.”