8-year-old boy jumps to death from 9th floor apartment after years of being beaten by his parents for 'misbehaving'
An eight-year-old Ukrainian boy reportedly jumped to his death from his parents' ninth-floor apartment after allegedly suffering years of abuse at their hands.
The boy, identified only as Anton, committed suicide when he returned to his Enerhodar, southern Ukrainian, home from school on August 23. He had just been beaten by his parents because he had ripped his clothes, according to the Mirror.
Neighbors of the family confirmed that they had heard the boy's parents shouting at him and beating him in the moments before his death.
Zhanna, a neighbor who lives downstairs from the family, said she had heard a brief silence after the beating that was followed by the sound of a child's quick footsteps.
"Several seconds passed and there was that horrific thud when a body hits the ground," she said. "I looked out of my kitchen window and saw the boy lying below. I called an ambulance and the police."
Andrey, another neighbor, also said he had heard a similar altercation before Anton's death. "I saw the family going upstairs to their flat," he explained. "Ten minutes later the boy was lying on the ground as his parents were racing downstairs into the street."
Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, with forensic examiners stating that the eight-year-old had fallen head-first and died on impact.
When questioned, Anton's parents admitted to not only beating him the day he died but to also regularly beating him for "misbehaving". They said he "jumped out of his room window right after the abuse."
Anton's school principal Oksana Zelenska revealed that his parents never showed any interest in him. "The boy fell behind at school and we had to hold him back in first grade. His parents were not interested in him at all," she said.
Zoya Pershyna, a psychologist, said the eight-year-old had visited her several times for counseling but that she "did not see it [his suicide] coming."
Police launched a criminal investigation against the parents for failing to fulfill their parental duties, but the pair abandoned the rented apartment and fled the town.
They face up to five years in prison if found guilty, with authorities currently trying to trace their whereabouts.