On June 30, Veronica Naumova, the guardian of six-year-old Daler Bobiev, whom she reported missing a few days ago, was arrested in Yekaterinburg, Meduza reports.
Over one and a half thousand people participated in the search for the boy. On June 29, his body was found in a sports bag in the garage rented by Naumova. During questioning, she admitted to concealing the child's death for several months. According to journalists, he died in December 2022.
On the morning of June 26, Veronica Naumova, a mother of multiple children from Yekaterinburg, contacted law enforcement authorities, stating that six-year-old Daler Bobiev, whom she had adopted with his sister in 2019, had gone missing. The family was raising a total of five children, including three biological children of Naumova and two foster children.
The disappearance of Daler was first noticed by his older brother, who shared a room with him. Naumova claimed that the child might have left the house during the night. Extensive searches for the child involving over one and a half thousand people began in the city.
On the second day of the search, Naumova gave an interview to "Yekaterinburg Online" where she stated that Daler had a suspected mental disorder:
"He was suspected of having schizophrenia. We consulted a psychiatrist a year ago when he almost killed his sister. We were told that schizophrenia cannot be diagnosed before the age of seven. He doesn't have a definitive diagnosis yet," Naumova said.
Naumova also mentioned that the child had an imaginary friend named Kostya, "who told him what to do," such as placing his hands on a hot radiator. The guardian also claimed that approximately six months ago, the child "started running away." According to her, the last time he ran away from home was on June 21, but he was quickly found.
"When I took him in, he was two years old. Naturally, no illness was diagnosed. Then it turned out that something was wrong. The doctor said it was the consequences of the orphanage. There was aggression, there were moments when he ate feces, there was self-aggression, such moments were present. Then he would calm down, everything seemed fine, and then it would happen again," Naumova said, adding that she was not prepared to take custody of a child "with a psychiatric condition."
An acquaintance of Naumova confirmed to journalists that Daler was an unusual child. She claimed that the boy allegedly had "impaired thermoregulation," meaning, according to her, that he did not feel cold or hot. "He could fill a bath with boiling water and not feel pain, sit until he got burns," she said. Naumova stated that Daler could run away from home after overhearing her conversation with the older children that he was going to be sent to a special institution.
On June 27, former ward of Naumova, Daniil Egolnikov, who had run away from the family a year and a half ago, told journalists that the guardian treated Daler cruelly.
"She constantly flew into a rage with him. She beat Daler, locked him in the basement, electrocuted him, held him in cold water, made him stand in the corner and squat. He irritated her in every way," Daniil said, adding that the boy couldn't escape. According to the former ward, Daler never left the house, he was very intimidated and always obeyed Naumova
In the evening of June 28, investigators detained Naumova as a suspect. The next day, details of the interrogation were revealed to E1.ru journalists. During the interrogation, the guardian confessed that Daler died as a result of an accident several months ago (the publication states that this happened in December 2022). According to her statement, the child drowned in the bathtub. Naumova suggested that his sister might have been involved in the incident.
According to the statement of Daler's sister, on the eve of the child's death, Naumova severely beat him with a large iron shoe horn. The boy did not receive any help, and the next morning, the guardian instructed his sister to wash him. In the bathroom, Daler lost consciousness and soon died, as reported by E1.ru. The publication states that he suffered a closed head injury.
Former ward of Naumova, Daniil Egolnikov, confirmed his sister's version that the guardian wanted to get rid of him. According to his account, Naumova not only shocked the child but also poured boiling water on him, placed his hands on a heater, and held them there.
Naumova admitted that she was afraid her other children would be taken away from her, so she concealed the boy's body in the rented garage. Daler's body was found there on June 29, leading to her arrest.
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