Death of Russian Adoptee Was Accidental, Texas Says
|
Version 0 of 1. Texas officials investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy who had been adopted from Russia said Friday that they had found no evidence to support the filing of criminal charges against the boy’s parents. The death of the boy, Max Alan Shatto, prompted outrage in Russia, which late last year banned adoptions by American citizens. Russian leaders had accused the boy’s adoptive mother of fatally beating him. Two Ector County officials — Sheriff Mark Donaldson and District Attorney Bobby Bland — said that after an autopsy, the medical examiner had ruled that Max’s death was accidental. They said that he had been treated for a behavioral disorder that caused him to injure himself and that the bruising that had been found on his body was consistent with the kind of self-injury associated with the disorder. The boy’s adoptive mother, Laura Shatto, told investigators that she had left Max and his brother playing outside unattended and returned to find Max lying on the ground, unresponsive. He died later that day at a hospital. The United States Embassy in Moscow called the boy’s death a tragedy, but added that Texas officials “worked diligently and professionally to examine the evidence concerning Max’s death.” |