WASHINGTON, March 27 (RIA Novosti) Max Shatto, the 3-year-old Russian adoptee who died on Jan. 21 in Texas, had more than 30 bruises on his body in different stages of healing at the time of his death, according to an autopsy report obtained by the Odessa American (OA) newspaper.
The report – acquired through a Freedom of Information request to the Tarrant County, Texas District Attorney – details the boy’s extensive injuries and the struggles of Alan and Laura Shatto, his adopted parents, to manage his behavior.
According to the autopsy report, there were abrasions, scratches, scars and bruises all over the boy’s body, which the parents described to investigators as self-injury.
The report also included an interview with Dr. Bruce Eckel, who saw the boy twice before his death and said his behavior and injuries indicated a significant psychological problem, for which he prescribed schizophrenia medication.
The report shows that three days before the boy died, the Shattos stopped giving him the medication because they thought it was affecting his ability to swallow food.
Max Shatto, also known by his Russian name Maxim Kuzmin, was adopted along with his younger brother in November.
According to Ector County, Texas sheriff’s officials, ambulance workers who were called to the home in Gardendale, Texas on the afternoon of Jan. 21 found Max Shatto unresponsive and transported him to an area hospital where he died a short time later.
According to the autopsy report obtained by OA, Laura Shatto said she was outside with the two boys, she went inside the house to use the bathroom, and returned to find Max on the ground, unresponsive, near some playground equipment. She told investigators he had a history of passing out from holding his breath, and that’s what she initially thought he was doing.
The death came just weeks after Russia enacted a ban on Americans adopting Russian children, in part because of concerns about previous deaths of adopted Russian children. Americans have adopted an estimated 60,000 Russian children over the last 20 years, and at least 20 of those children have died.
Investigators said the boy’s death – from a ruptured artery in his abdomen – was accidental, but they could not say what caused the injury.
A grand jury presented with evidence in the case earlier this month declined to indict either of the parents, a move that outraged some Russian officials.
“The injuries on the child were not consistent with abuse,” Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland said at the time. “They were instead consistent with previously diagnosed behavioral disorder.”
Russia’s child rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said on Wednesday that Russia will continue to pursue legal action, since parents leaving a child unattended is a crime.
In a statement, Astakhov said the autopsy report was “biased and hasty,” and added that Russia "cannot accept this probe and its results as final and objective."
The Russian Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the autopsy report Wednesday.
