Kremlin’s child advocate tweets murder allegation at US mom

10:43, 19 February 2013

MOSCOW. February 19. KAZINFORM Russia's child rights ombudsman, Pavel Astakhov, writing Monday in his Twitter feed, accused a Texas woman of killing a toddler she and her husband had adopted from Russia, though he acknowledged later that no conclusive investigation had yet taken place.

"An adoptive mother has killed a three-year-old Russian child in the state of Texas. The murder occurred at the end of January," Astakhov wrote in an inflammatory tweet.

"The boy died before an ambulance called by his mother arrived. According to a report by medical examiners, the boy had numerous injuries," Astakhov wrote, kazinform refers to RIA Novosti

Speaking later on state-run television, he said that Texas authorities were investigating, but had not yet determined whether any crime took place. Astakhov said the woman had been restricted to seeing her second child, reportedly the deceased boy's two-year-old brother, once a week.

A spokesperson for Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) confirmed in an interview with RIA Novosti on Monday that CPS is investigating the death of Max Shatto, 3.

"A typical investigation is completed in about 30 days, but can take longer if law enforcement is involved (in this case, the Ector County Sheriff's Department, in Odessa, Texas, is investigating)," the spokesperson said.

"In this particular case, the allegations reported to CPS were physical abuse and neglectful supervision, or simply, neglect. At the conclusion of an investigation, CPS will either confirm a finding, rule out a finding, or it will classify it as undetermined," the official added.

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