Wife of Soviet Aide Killed in Fall in Canada

The wife of a Soviet trade representative stationed in Toronto apparently has leaped to her death, but Canadian government and police officials Wednesday denied there was any connection between her death and the decision of KGB agent Vitaly Yurchenko to return to Moscow.

The suicide of the Soviet woman Tuesday set off speculation that she might be linked to Yurchenko.

CIA officials told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that one reason Yurchenko escaped from the agency’s custody over the weekend and asked to return to Moscow is that his love affair with the wife of a Canada-based Soviet diplomat had soured. He had apparently hoped to persuade his lover to defect to the United States, the CIA said.

Fall From 27th Floor

The Soviet woman was killed Tuesday morning by a fall from the 27th floor of an apartment building in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, police said. They declined to identify her because relatives had not been notified, but the Global Television Network said she was Svetlana Dedkova, the wife of a Soviet citizen who worked for Omnitrade, a Soviet trading company.

In Washington, a State Department official said the department knew of no connection between Yurchenko and the Soviet woman, using language almost identical to that used by Canadian authorities.

Sean Brady, spokesman for the External Affairs Ministry in Ottawa, said that “as far as we know, there’s no relationship” between the woman’s death and Yurchenko.

A Toronto police officer, who asked not to be named, said the woman had left a note but made no mention of Yurchenko. He added that she reportedly had been depressed.

‘An Incredible Coincidence’

A spokesman for the Canadian Security Service, Canada’s intelligence agency, said in Ottawa that reports of a link between the two incidents are “totally wrong,” although “an incredible coincidence.” He said the agency “stated all day there’s no connection between Yurchenko and this woman.”

Pauline Vincent, spokeswoman for the Canadian solicitor general, also said, “There is no connection between Yurchenko and this woman.”

In the United States, National Public Radio and ABC News, quoting “Reagan Administration sources,” reported that Yurchenko made a secret flight to Canada in October.

Yurchenko’s departure was “the climax to a dramatic . . . three weeks which included a secret flight to Canada arranged by the CIA, where Yurchenko met face to face with the wife of a Soviet diplomat whom he supposed loved him and who he thought would defect with him,” ABC News reported.

“She refused, and Yurchenko returned to Washington,” ABC said.