A former deputy minister of housing and communal services in the Astrakhan region faked her own death to evade justice.

Marianna Stupina, who had been posing as a dead woman for 13 years, was uncovered during a double murder investigation. сообщил Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. 

In 2012, Stupina was sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption. However, after her sentencing, she managed to go into hiding. While monitoring publications about missing persons, she came across a report that Novosibirsk region The body of a woman who looked like her was found. 

Stupina sent her husband there, who “identified” the deceased as his wife, after which the ex-official returned to Astrakhan region and lived there without attracting anyone's attention.

The story came to light accidentally during the investigation of another criminal case—the murder of two local residents in 2010. Stupina had no connection to the double murder, but her whereabouts were established during the investigation. 

She has now been sent back to serve her original sentence. An investigation into the case of faking her death has also been opened.