Tag Archives: dead russian adoptees

FOREVER FAMILY – FOREVER DEAD UPDATE: KIMBERLY EMELYANTSEV PLEADS GUILTY

Posted on by — 22 Comments ↓

On June 20 Kimberly Emelyantsev, 33, pled guilty to a lowered charge of 2nd degree felony child abuse homicide in the death of her newly adopted Russian son, 14- month old Kolya. Emelyantsev initially told police Kolya fell off a chair, but later admitted that she’d dropped him on the floor–several times–causing his death by blunt force trauma to the head. (skull fracture). Tooele (Utah) Deputy County Attorney Gary Searle said the amended charges were part of a plea bargain. “It wasn’t an accident, but the intent to kill the child wasn’t there either.” He promised that details of the case will come out during the sentencing hearing scheduled for August 15. Charges of child abuse against Emelyantsev and her Russian national husband Fyodor in connection with their 4-year old adopted son Luka were dropped after authorities and the county attorney’s office were unable to find enough evidence to prosecute. Fydor, held on bond since his arrest in April, will be released. Luka, and Kimberley’s biological children may be returned to the couple later. Luka, like Kolya, has Down Syndrome. Bailiff Frank Scharmann directs Kimberly Emelyantsev into 3rd District Court Friday. Emelyantsev pled guilty to second-degree felony child abuse homicide Continue Reading →

FOREVER FAMILY, FOREVER DEAD UPDATE: VIKTOR MATTHEY

Posted on by — 3 Comments ↓

Today’s Pravda has an update on the case of murdered Russian adoptee, Viktor Matthey, born Viktor Sergievich Tulimov and adopted from the Amur Region of Siberia. As you may recall, in 2000, 7-year old Viktor, who had been in the US for 10 months, died of cardiac arrest due to hypothermia after adoptive parents Robert and Brenda Matthey, whose history of child abuse was revealed during their trial, locked him overnight in a damp unheated pump room. He also suffered over 40 cuts, scrapes, bruises and untreated fractures. Robert Matthey admitted beating Viktor with an aluminum baseball bat, a belt, 2 whips, and his open hand. Though there is not much new information in the article, we learn that Viktor’s paternal adoptive grandmother, Phyllis Matthey-Johnson, who testified against her son and daughter-in law in court, has finally been allowed to adopt Viktor’s twin brothers Volodya and Zhenya, now 12, first adopted by Mattheys. A Catholic, Matthey-Johnson, according to the article, denounced her born again Pentecostal son saying she “could not understand people who combine faith with whips.” The article says that the Matthey’s four biological sons (some now adults) were put under the guardianship of the family’s Pentecostal pastor, KM Continue Reading →

FOREVER FAMILY, FOREVER DEAD UPDATE: Nina Hilt

Posted on by — 22 Comments ↓

Recently Peggy Sue Hilt was featured in the WE documentary Women Behind Bars. Hilt was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the beating death of her Forever Russian Adoptee, Nina, born Viktoria Bazhenova. Vika was 2 1/2 years old when she died on July 2, 2005. She was adopted from a Siberian orphanage about 6 months earlier. We do not know who conducted the home study, but Vika was placed with the Hilts by Adoptions International in Dallas, Tx. owned by adoption attorney Jody Hall. The agency refers to adoption as “the best experience of your life.” After Viktoria’s murder, the couple’s older Forever Adoptee, Nataliya Oksana, (born Olga, last name unknown) adopted from Ukraine through an independent adoption handled by Cathy Harris, was placed in protective custody with an adoptive aunt. Last we heard, Hilt’s husband Christopher, who was not implicated in the murder, was divorcing his wife and seeking permanent custody of Nataliya. Peggy Sue Hilt was sentenced to 35 years in prison (with 10 years suspended and another 5 years of post-release probation). Her projected release date is 2022. The following is taken from the WE website. It is an account by First Sergeant John Buttner, Sup. Continue Reading →

FOREVER FAMILY, FOREVER DEAD UPDATE: Merrymans Sentenced in Death of Dennis

Posted on by — 15 Comments ↓

Yesterday Samual and Donna Merryman were sentenced to 22 years each in the death of their Forever Russian Adoptee Dennis. Dennis, born Dennis Yuritsky was adopted in 2000 from an orphanage in Perm. The adoption agency is not known. Dennis, 8, died on January 22, 2005 of cardiac arrest brought on by starvation. The Merrymans claimed that Dennis’s condition was caused by cystic fibrosis. The couple are self-described born again Christians. They were home schoolers and also taught Sunday School. Since it will go away soon, I’m including today’s Baltimore Sun article on the sentencing hearing at the bottom of this entry. Notable excerpts from the article (if you can stomach it): (1) “All you need to do is look at the autopsy photos of Dennis,” Harford County Circuit Judge Emory A. Plitt said. “It has a striking resemblance to the bodies from the German concentration camps.” (2) Two older siblings described how Dennis spent nights in an unheated room, strapped to a crib without a mattress to cushion him. His hands were tied behind his back with an elastic band, and bells were attached to his body so his parents could hear him when he moved, the siblings testified.They Continue Reading →

AND THE BEAT GOES ON: FOREVER FAMILY FOREVER DEAD UPDATE

Posted on by — 5 Comments ↓

A little over 2 1/2 years ago I wrote Forever Family, Forever Dead, about the 12 Russian adoptees murdered by their forever families in the US. Since then the entry has received thousands of hits including those from the US Senate, House, federal courts, and the media.Tragically, we have a 13th death to add to the list: Nicoli Emelyantsev,14 months old. Kolya died on March 7 of a fractured skull caused by blunt force trauma. Kolya had Down Syndrome. Kolya had been voluntarily relinquished by his parents in hope of a better life in the US. His mother visited him weekly until his departure to the US and had wanted to stay in contact with his new family. Kolya’s adoptive mother, Kimberly Emelyantsev has been charged with 1st degree felony murder and is being held on $500,000 cash bond. His adoptive father, Fyodor Emelyantsev, a Russian citizen, is under investigation for child abuse and neglect after doctors determined another son, Luka, 4, adopted from Russia in December 2007, was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. Luka also has Down Syndrome. Emelyantsev also has a 10-year old daughter with Down Syndrome and is trained in handling disabled persons. He works as an Continue Reading →

GAGGED AND BANNED BY ADOPTION.COM: RUSSIAN MEMORIAM "MOCKS" ADOPTEES AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS

Posted on by — 21 Comments ↓

The response to Forever Family–Forever Dead has been overwhelming. All of it has been positive. Well, almost. You might ask who would complain about a blog dedicated to the memory of Russian children murdered by their adoptive parents? Right? Well, I’ll tell you who. adoption.com, that’s who. Deemed “anti-adoption,” Bastardette has been booted off adoption.com forums, her account cancelled, and at least one of her essays housed in its Internet library removed. And for what? For writing The Daily Bastardette! Specifically: Publishing Forever Family–Forever Dead. Yes, you read that correctly! Those oh-so adoption friendly and supportive folks at adoption.com have declared Bastardette “disrespectful” of adoptive parents and adoptees. (No mention of birth parents, but do they really count over there anyway?) The “official” reason, if you believe the mod’s zany lecture, is that the use of the term “adopter”–in Bastardette’s own blog not on the forums–is “anti-adoption.” (We’ll be discussing the term “adopter,” and why it’s a “threat” in a future blog.) But “adopter” isn’t used at all in Forever Family–Forever Dead. In fact, it appears sparsely on these pages–April 3, May 6, May 8, and May 25. Of course, it wouldn’t look good to beat up on small children Continue Reading →

FOREVER FAMILY–FOREVER DEAD–UPDATE

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Forever Family–Forever Dead was hardly up and out when Bastardette learned of a new addition–Dennis Merryman, who died January 22,2005 of starvation. His adoptive parents were arrested yesterday. Dennis’s story is now included in the original posting (see below). This report will be updated regularly

FOREVER FAMILY– FOREVER DEAD: A MEMORIAM FOR RUSSIAN ADOPTEES

Posted on by — 50 Comments ↓

Originally published August 3, 2005 Nobody is forgotten. Nothing is forgotten.Nikto ne zabyt – Nichto ne zabyto….Olga BergoltsSince 1996 at least 15 children adopted from Russia by USians have died at the hands of their Forever Parents. “Experts” like to say that these kinds of deaths are “rare,” yet no other national or ethnic cohort of children placed internationally with US parents have sustained such abuse. The Daily Bastardette will discuss the Russian situation in other posts, but for now, here are the stories of these children who have found their Forever Homes not with loving adoptive parents but in the grave. DAVID POLREIS, JR, (birth name unknown) age 2, Greeley, Colorado. Died February 9, 1996; beaten and cut over 90% of his body. Adoptive mother Renee Polreis, 42, claimed David beat himself to death with a wooden spoon due to RAD. Husband, David Polreis, Sr. , a vice president of Con-Agra, was out of town at the time of the attack and was not implicated. Renee Polreis was convicted of child abuse resulting in death and sentenced to 18 years in prison. In 2000 her sentence was reduced; she was paroled in 2005 and remains on intensive supervised parole. Continue Reading →