Killer parents to keep guardianship of victim’s sister?

A US couple who killed their Russian-born adopted son may be stripped of parental rights of the victim’s twin sister.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has appealed to top human-rights officials for support, insisting that the girl should be returned to Russia.

The Craver couple were convicted in the US of the manslaughter of their Russian-born child, seven-year-old Vanya Skorobogatov, who died in August 2009 from a skull injury.

Both adoptive parents claimed Vanya had sustained his head injury when he struck himself against the fireplace at home. An examination revealed there were more than 80 bruises on the boy’s body and 20 on the head. The boy was had also been starved.

A court in Pennsylvania handed down a guilty verdict on the Cravers on November 18, finding them guilty of the unpremeditated murder of their adopted son. Each received 16 months in jail on counts of involuntary homicide. Taking into account the time spent in custody since March 2010, the couple were freed.

Claiming that the punishment is not enough, the Investigative Committee asked a Russian court to issue an arrest warrant for the couple.

This provoked criticism from the Prosecutor’s Office as the officials say a convicted criminal cannot be tried on the same charges in a different country.

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