Korshunova's unexpected death became a longtime controversial subject of international attention. According to her mother, before Korshunova began modeling she was enrolled in a school for gifted children, getting top marks. Korshunova was discovered in , when All Asia magazine printed a story on Almaty's local German language club, which Korshunova was then attending.
Her photograph, which was featured in the article, caught the attention of Debbie Jones of Models 1 ; Jones tracked down and signed up the then year-old Korshunova, [ 12 ] who was nicknamed the Russian Rapunzel for her kneeβlength chestnut hair in her early work. British Vogue hailed Korshunova as "a face to be excited about" in On 28 June , at around p.
Police stated there were no signs of a struggle in her apartment and concluded that Korshunova's death was an apparent suicide. One of Korshunova's friends stated that she had just returned from a modeling job in Paris , noting that she seemed to be "on top of the world" with no apparent reason why she would commit suicide. Korshunova's former boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, stated that he dropped Korshunova off at her apartment several hours before her death after they watched the Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore film Ghost together.
Korshunova's most telling message came in March "I'm so lost. Will I ever find myself? Experts did not find any traces of someone else's skin underneath her nails. Korshunova's mother, Valentina Kutenkova does not believe in her daughter's suicide. She said that she wanted to quit the modeling business. Everything was fine with her recently though.
If she had problems at work, she would have told me", she said. Muhammad Naqib, a concierge who worked in Korshunova's building stated, "I was shocked when I saw her on the pavement. She was on the road, small and pitiful, in a puddle of blood, surrounded by a crowd. Her arms and neck were broken", the man said. Naqib was immediately suspicious.
