News

A court has recognized the evidence collected by the Saratov Region Office of the Investigative Committee sufficient to convict a 28-year-old resident of the town of Saratov and his 28-year-old wife. The man was found guilty of brutal murder of a minor by a group of people in conspiracy aggravated by rape under Part 2, items “c”, “e”, “g” of Article 105, 6 counts of sexual abuse of a child under 14 years of age under Part 4, item “b” of Article 132 of the RF Penal Code, while his wife was found guilty of brutal murder of a minor by a group of people in conspiracy under Part 2, items “c”, “e”, “g” of Article 105.

The court and investigators have revealed that in late August 2014, the 28-year-old woman took her 7-year-old son from her mother with whom he had been living basically since the moment he was born, to live with her new husband. From 1 September 2014 to 23 August 2015, the latter tortured, offended and humiliated the boy first when his wife was away and then together with her. In addition to tortures, the parents demanded that the boy jumped from the balcony of the flat on the 10^th floor. Being young, the boy was not able to decide to take his own life and when facing tortures yet again understood the parents literally. He fell from the balcony on 23 August 2015 and died on the scene.

Forensic medical examinations found multiple traces of tortures on the boy’s body, he had gotten a few days before death. The cause of death was a blunt-force trauma. The investigators also established that in June and August 2015, the boy’s step-father raped sexually abused the boy on multiple occasions.

All wrongdoings were committed when there was no-one around who could confirm that the parents were the ones guilty of them. However, well-planned interrogations, results of forensic examinations and other investigative operations allowed the investigators to confirm that both of them were involved in the crimes.

Both man and woman were remanded in custody for the period of the initial investigation. During the probe the man changed his testimony several times: at first he did not deny that used force and sexually abused the child, but later recanted it. The boy’s mother on the contrary – refused any involvement in the crimes. Moreover, the couple tried to blame each other in hoping probably to avoid punishment. Both of them were evaluated and found sane and perfectly capable of appreciating their actions. Experts also noted that both adults enjoyed torturing the boy.

To prevent such tragedies in future, the investigators of the Saratov Region investigative authority filed requests with regional social services asking to eliminate the reasons and conditions that had contributed to the crime and caused by poor control over the family.

The court has sentenced the man to 24 years in a maximum-security correctional facility and his wife to 18 years in a minimum-security correctional facility.