The couple who stole a boy they “liked” in the Rostov region were suspected of murdering their adopted child

A couple from the Volgograd region who stole a 3-year-old boy in the neighboring Rostov region were suspected of murdering their adopted child, reports . the Investigative Committee

The boy was kidnapped on May 7, the Investigative Committee published on its website a request to all citizens to help find the stolen child.

On the evening of May 8, the 48-year-old couple was detained; the next day, after interrogation by the Investigative Committee, Interfax published an explanation of the suspects in the abduction of the child.

“When they saw a boy they liked, they decided to kidnap him and raise him. Having chosen a convenient place and time, the suspects sprayed gas from a gas canister in the face of the child’s grandmother and, grabbing the boy, drove to the Volgograd region in their car,” stated the agency’s interlocutor in the Investigative Committee. The kidnapped child was returned to his parents.

During the investigation, the Investigative Committee found out that the suspects were raising five children, four of whom were adopted. One of the adopted children, a four-year-old boy, disappeared in September 2016, allegedly while playing in the sandbox near the house.

“At the same time, the guardians did not contact law enforcement agencies either after the incident or in the next 8 months, but they regularly received the payments due,” notes the Investigative Committee.

Investigators suggested that “the disappearance of the adopted child is most likely criminal in nature.” A criminal case has been initiated under paragraph “c” of Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code (murder of a minor).