Parents no-billed in Max Shatto case

Parents no-billed in Max Shatto case

Distract Attorney says grand jury finds no wrong doing in Russian boy’s death

Max Alan Shatto

Posted: Monday, March 18, 2013 2:24 pm | Updated: 5:15 pm, Mon Mar 18, 2013.

BY NATHANIEL MILLER nmiller@oaoa.com

Posted on March 18, 2013

by Nathaniel Miller

Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland during a Monday news conference said “there is no evidence to support holding anybody criminally responsible,” and that the adoptive parents of a 3-year-old Russian boy will not be charged with a crime.

The announcement closes a case that became the focal point of a controversial Russian law that has banned American parents from adopting Russian children.

Bland said he presented the case in the death of Max Alan Shatto to the grand jury Monday, adding jurors no-billed Max’s adoptive parents, Alan and Laura Shatto.

A no-bill is issued when a grand jury decides the evidence before an accused individual doesn’t warrant an indictment for criminal prosecution.

In a previous news conference on March 1, Bland said an autopsy ruled Max’s death was accidental, which was confirmed by three forensic pathologists at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office and one pathologist from outside the office.

The autopsy stated his death was caused by a laceration to the small bowel mesentery artery.

“The findings of the autopsy held up,” Bland said in the Monday news conference in his office. “In this case, the grand jury determined there was insignificant evidence to charge them (the Shattos) with a crime.”

Max, who was born in Pskov, Russia as Maxim Kuzmin, was found outside of his Gardendale home on Jan. 21 after Laura Shatto returned from a 10 minute “bathroom emergency,” Bland said. After finding Max unresponsive, he was transported to Medical Center Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:43 p.m.

The death became an international incident after Russian officials made claims that the Shattos used “inhuman treatment” against the child, saying Laura abused and injected Max with psychotropic drugs. No drugs were found in Max’s system. Some bruising was found on Max’s body.

Bland said the bruising was consistent with injuries typically found on 3-year-olds, while adding that it was possible other bruises could have been self-inflicted or from falling. Bland said a playground in the Shattos backyard, which has a glider, could have also been a factor to Max’s injuries.

The district attorney also said the child was underweight for a child his size and the fatal blow could have happened before he was found outside.

“It would not have taken that much force for the blow that killed him,” Bland said.

The Shatto’s attorney, Michael J. Brown, was reportedly told about the grand jury’s finding earlier in the day.

“They feel good about it,” Brown said about the no-bill. “It was a horrible ordeal for anyone to go through. The accusations hurled against them were without any foundation.”

Russian officials have used Max’s death as a focal point in their defense of a law, signed by President Vladimir Putin 2011, which bans American parents from adopting Russian children. The law was signed in retaliation to the Magnitsky Act, a law targeting Russian officials of supposed human-rights violations.

Officials have also called for the Shatto’s to return Max’s brother, 2-year-old Kristopher, to Russia. State officials have said that Kristopher has continued to live with the Shatto’s since Max’s death.

Despite the closure of the criminal case, Bland said Texas Child Protective Services was still conducting their own investigation into the case. If more evidence is uncovered against the Shattos, Bland said the case could be sent back to the grand jury. However, Bland said he doesn’t expect that to happen.

The adoption agency that helped with the Shatto’s adoption, The Gladney Center for Adoption based in Fort Worth, was cleared in a separate investigation by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Even with the release of the autopsy results, Bland said he can’t change the minds of people who feel the child’s death was covered up.

“When a child dies so young and tragically, it is natural to want to hold someone accountable,” Bland said. “However, in this case, there is no evidence to support holding anybody criminally responsible.”

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