Adoptive mother charged with murder in death of Russian child
Adoptive mother charged with murder in death of Russian child
The Associated Press
Friday, March 14, 2008
TOOELE, Utah: An adoptive mother of three Russian children has been charged with murdering an infant and abusing a 4-year-old boy who was found suffering from malnourishment.
Court documents show the infant 14-month-old Nikolai, who was adopted in February died March 7 at Primary Children's Medical Center. An autopsy determined the child had died from a skull fracture that doctors said was the result of blunt-force trauma, police and court records show. The infant also had a bruised face, head, knee and anus.
Fyodor Emelyantsev, the adoptive father, told police the child had fallen on March 6. The child's adoptive mother, Kimberly K. Emelyantsev, declined to speak with police, court documents said.
Doctors also found the Emelyantsev's 4-year-old son was suffering from extreme dehydration and malnourishment. The child was admitted to the hospital three times since his adoption in December. A feeding tube was inserted in the boy's stomach during the first visit to help him gain weight.
A physician told police the child's condition should not have declined after receiving the feeding tube if he was being properly cared for.
On Wednesday, Tooele County prosecutors charged Kimberly Emelyantsev, 33, with one count of first-degree murder. A felony charge of child abuse/neglect was filed Thursday.
Fyodor Emelyantsev, 31, who is a Russian citizen, was also charged Thursday with one count of felony child abuse/neglect in the case of the 4-year-old.
The Emelyantsevs were being held in the Tooele County jail. A $500,000 (321,300) cash-only bail was set for Kimberly Emelyantsev. Fyodor Emelyantsev was being held without bail.
A judge granted Fyodor Emelyantsev permission to be transported by jail officers to a graveside burial service for his infant son on Friday.
A telephone message left for Fyodor Emelyantsev's attorney was not immediately returned Friday.
Edwin S. Wall, who represents Kimberly Emelyantsev, said he is still evaluating the case.
"I can say that in handling these cases in the past, and as I expect in this case, there will be some complex medical information that will have to be evaluated in order to understand what occurred," he said.
The Emelyantsevs have two biological children, ages 10 and 5. Those children and an adopted 2-year-old from Russia have been placed with relatives by the state Division of Child and Family Services, Wall said.
Neighbors said the Emelyantsevs had wanted to adopt so badly that they took out a second mortgage on their home to finance their travel to Russia to get the children.
"We don't believe this is true because we all know how much they loved those kids," neighbor Celeste Hansen said of the allegations in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.
Hansen said both the infant and the 4-year-old arrived in the U.S. with medical problems. The 4-year-old weighed just 18 pounds (8 kilograms) and Nicoli had suffered seizures, she said.
The Emelyantsevs are scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday.