Tooele mom pleads guilty to child abuse homicide

Tooele mom pleads guilty to child abuse homicide

by Jamie Belnap

Kimberly Emelyantsev, 33, made a 911 call on March 6 to report that her son Nikolai — a child with Down syndrome who she had recently adopted from Russia — was experiencing breathing problems. Tooele City police officers who responded to the scene noted discoloration and bruising to the child’s face. The child was taken to Mountain West Medical Center and then transported to Primary Children’s Medical Center, where he later died.

Emelyantsev originally told police the child had fallen off a chair in the family’s living room when she had left the room for a few minutes to change another child’s diaper. She was arrested March 10 after physicians at Primary Children’s Medical Center advised police that Nikolai had sustained injuries that were a result of blunt-force trauma to the head and could not have been caused by a fall as described by Emelyantsev.

Emelyantsev told Judge Mark Kouris that the child had not fallen, but rather she had dropped him, which ultimately caused his death.

Deputy County Attorney Gary Searle said the amended charges were part of a plea deal.

“In our plea negotiations with the defense, we found out that [the case] fit better under a reckless charge rather than intentional,” Searle said. “It wasn’t an accident, but the intent to kill the child wasn’t there either.”

Searle said more details as to what actually happened to Nikolai will come out at the upcoming sentencing hearing, but added the child was dropped more than once.

Additional child abuse charges against Emelyantsev and her husband, Fyodor, in connection with the suspected abuse of another of the couple’s children — a 4-year-old son with Down syndrome, also adopted from Russia — were dismissed after further review by the county attorney’s office.

“There wasn’t even a consensus among the medical community [about the alleged abuse],” Searle said. “There just weren’t the facts to move forward on it.”

Fyodor will be released from custody. Searle said it’s possible that the couple’s children — a 10-year-old daughter from Kimberly’s previous marriage, and two younger biological daughters, ages 5 and 2, and the 4-year-old adopted son — who were being watched by a maternal uncle in Dugway will be returned to the couple, though not immediately.

Kimberly will appear for sentencing on Aug. 8. She could face up to 15 years in prison.

jamieb@tooeletranscript.com