Adopted Child Deaths

Peggy Hilt, Jail and Me

Submitted by VirginiaC on Tue, 04/08/2008 - 11:58

 

Scales of justiceI know exactly where I was on July 3, 2005 at noon: In the bathroom, throwing up. I was in the midst of my second adoption from Russia, and I had just gotten a call from my agency rep telling me that another Russian-born child had been killed by her adoptive American parents. It had already been six weeks since I had seen my little guy for the first time in Sakhalin and, with no court date in sight, I was immediately consumed by the fear that Nina Hilt's death would spell the end of my son's adoption. 

Late last year, the woman who killed her gave an interview to Newsweek. In it, Peggy Hilt seemed to accept responsibility for what she had done and said she was speaking out to convince parents dealing with a difficult adoption to seek help as early as possible. 

Only A Year After Adoption, Girl Dies of Cancer

Submitted by JulieC on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 20:27

Only a year after 8 year old Krista Ruthanne had a bedside adoption ceremony due to being too weak to get to the courthouse, the brave and loving child lost her battle to cancer. 

Adoption News: Utah Mom Charged With Killing Adopted Child, N.J. Leave Bill Advances

Submitted by VirginiaC on Sat, 03/15/2008 - 18:03

 

NewspapersA Utah woman has been charged with murdering a toddler adopted from Russia. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Kimberly Emelyantsev was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the March 7 death of a 14-month-old boy named Nikolai. Citing police and court records, the newspaper said an autopsy found the child had died from a skull fracture caused by blunt-force trauma. 

Both the woman and her husband, whom the newspaper named as Fyodor Emelyantsev, were also charged with child abuse for allegedly starving a second child they adopted from Russia, a four-year-old boy. According to the newspaper, the child had been admitted to a Salt Lake hospital three times since he was adopted in December, each time suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. The younger child was adopted in February.