A Russian mom, who is now based in Wisconsin, killed her eight-year-old son and threatened to murder the rest of her family after growing increasingly erratic and paranoid about the war in Ukraine, authorities announced on Tuesday, April 5.
The New York Post reported that Natalia Aleksandrovna Hitchcock of Sheboygan Falls strangled her youngest son on March 30, leaving him unconscious. He suffered fatal injuries because of the choking, resulting in his death. Police identified the victim who died on Friday as Oliver Hitchcock.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Sheboygan County, Hitchcock has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Police said in their statement that Oliver's father and a second child were also present at the family apartment during Natalia's deadly attack.
Hitchcock also tried to kill her other son
According to the complaint, Hitchcock confessed to investigators that apart from strangling her youngest son, she also held her 11-year-old son's head underwater in a bathtub in an apparent attempt to kill him. Natalia also told the police that she stabbed herself in the chest.
The criminal complaint did not provide the names of the children and their father. NBC News reported that they were referred to instead as witness 1, Victim 1, and Victim 2. Witness 1 told an officer that Russia's invasion of Ukraine appeared to be taking a toll on Hitchcock's mental health, with the complaint stating that she has Russian roots. Witness 1 added that she did not have any previously diagnosed mental illnesses.
The legal papers said that the older boy had found the lifeless body of his brother on the floor of his bedroom while their mother was on the bed with a big knife. The complaint said that the screams of the surviving boy woke their father from his nap. The dad made several attempts to save young Oliver, who was pronounced dead a couple of days later.
While the father was trying his hardest to revive his son, even performing CPR on Oliver, the complaint said his wife was walking around the apartment with a knife. With a dazed look, Natalia said she would kill everyone in the house.
Read Also : Parents of Navin Jones Charged With Murder After 8-Year-Old Son Dies Weighing Just 30 Pounds
Hitchcock's mental health issues triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine
Apart from stabbing herself in the chest, the Russian mom also told the police that she tried to overdose on painkillers, according to a report by KWWL. When the police asked her husband if Hitchcock had any mental health concerns before killing their son, he said, "She does now."
He detailed his wife's paranoia over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, telling cops that he was worried about her mental state of mind as she watched the news on television regarding the war between the two countries.
The complaint said that the suspect's parents were still in Russia, and she was furious that she could not go back home to see them as booking flights was impossible.
