MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) – Autopsy of the deceased five-year-old Russian boy who was adopted in Italy has revealed that he was strangled, local media reports said.
On Friday, police of the Italian city of Pescara detained 47-year-old Italian citizen Massimo Maravalle, who is suspected of having strangled his adoptive son with a pillow while he was sleeping.
An investigation into the boy’s death is ongoing.
The boy was adopted by an Italian couple in 2012. Italian media reported that the adoptive father was on medication for his psychological problems. However, when the adoption was processed, this fact was omitted.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case concerning negligence committed in the course of processing adoption documents for the boy.
Spokesman Vladimir Markin said the investigation will assess actions of officials who denied custody to the boy’s relatives and processed requests of Russian families who wanted to adopt the kid.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and Russian Embassy in Rome are monitoring the situation.
