Girl who plunged to her death in St Paul’s Cathedral was genius studying to be brain surgeon
Distraught mum of Lidia Dragescu said her daughter 'was not happy with this world' and 'had no friends', while her twin brother has vowed never to celebrate his birthday again
A GRADUATE who fell to her death in St Paul’s Cathedral was studying to be a brain surgeon, it emerged yesterday.
Lidia Dragescu, 23 — who once considered becoming a model — had been taking a biochemical course to add to her business degree.
Lidia, 23, died last Wednesday after plunging in front of visitors at the Central London landmark.
Her mother Isabela said after the Romanian national plunged from the London cathedral’s Whispering Gallery: “She was very happy and excited to start her career as a doctor.
“She desperately wanted to be a brain surgeon.”
But she said her daughter was stressed and struggled with "sadness".
The 44-year-old said: "She was stressed. She was not happy with this world.
"She opened up to me about her sadness about not fitting in.”
Lidia, who was also a talented figure skater and pianist, was a regular visitor to St Paul’s.
She left a note to her mother and another for the tourists and staff who witnessed her death.
Lidia, her twin Vlad and brother Gabriel, 16, were brought to the UK from Romania by their mum five years ago.
The family settled in Romford, East London.
Lidia was a straight-A student but painfully shy.
Her mother said: “She didn’t have friends but she was kind, selfless and did everything for her family.”
She added: “Her books are all still here on the shelf — Sigmund Freud, Rudolf Steiner, Voltaire. I have lost my best friend.
"I don’t have any tears left.”
Lidia’s twin Vlad is so heartbroken he has vowed never to celebrate his birthday again.
She has been described as a talented figure skater and an "outstanding student".
She was studying business at a London university, according to City of London Police.
In a statement, her heartbroken family have said: "Our daughter and sister was the most beautiful person in the world.
"Her heart was pure and kind, a soul from another world.
"She was an outstanding student and a talented figure skater. Beautiful, intelligent and kind.
"She would always help me, not allowing me to do any difficult chores. Her love for us was beyond measure, she was selfless and kind.
"Everything that she had she shared with us, always putting us first.
"We love her and will always love her. For Lidia, the world has been a bad place to live in."
Investigators said her death was not being treated as suspicious.
Paramedics arrived within in minutes of her fall just after 10:30am but were unable to save her.
A statement on the cathedral website described "the shock we feel as a close community, especially for those of us who witnessed and responded to this incident."
It added: "We hold also in our thoughts those visitors within the Cathedral at the time.
"We think and pray especially at this time for the woman who died, and for all those who were close to her and who loved and cared for her."
The Whispering Gallery sits in St Paul's dome and attracts visitors from all over the world.
It was given its name because people can whisper against its walls and be heard on the opposite side.
The iconic cathedral was built in the 17th Century to designs made by Sir Christopher Wren.
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