[4] Her body was discovered by her teenage son Anton Filimonov and step-father Vladimir Melezhko, when Cherkasova’s mother got worried that the daughter did not show up at work and did not answer phone calls.
[6] The journalists who witnessed the start of investigative actions recall that policemen said “We’ve got to take the pioneer” meaning Veronika’s son.
The boy was questioned without lawyer or relatives, threatened, pressured and had to flee to Moscow to his father Dmitry Filimonov.
[10] World Association of News Publishers, IFEX and other international organizations condemned harassment of Cherkasova’s family and urged Belarusian authorities to make the case's investigation clear and fair.
[4][12] On October 19, 2012, a group of unidentified people tried to break into the Minsk apartment where Cherkasova’s mother, father and son live.