Fomin came to the US with his biological parents in 2005. Threeyears later, after his father had died from cancer and his motherwas unable to care for him, allegedly due to her mental disease,Anton was placed under the legal guardianship of US citizen SlavikSinchuk.
In May 2012, the boy was killed in a fire at the home of hisguardian in Davey, Nebraska. His guardians were away at the time ofthe accident.
Initial reports suggested that Anton was locked in the basementwhen the house caught fire, but Sinchuk denied the claim, sayingthe boy was sleeping in his room in the basement and they haddecided not to wake him up as they were leaving for a shorttime.
US police found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, and nocharges were filed against Sinchuk or his wife. Shortly afterwards,Russian Children’s Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov urged Russianauthorities to launch a criminal investigation into theaccident.
Russian officials have requested more information on Anton'sdeath. The US reportedly pledged to cooperate with Moscow and share“all available information.”
News of the investigation came amid the unfolding case ofanother adopted Russian child who died in the US: Maksim Kuzmin,adopted by the Shatto family, died in Texas in late January. Aninvestigation into the death is ongoing.
Last year, Russian lawmakers signed the 'Dima Yakovlev law,'banning all US citizens from adopting Russian children. The lawcame into force on January 1 as a response to the deaths of Russianchildren adopted by American families, as well as US reluctance tocooperate with Russian authorities in investigating the cases.
Yakovlev was a Russian boy adopted by an American family fromVirginia, who died after his adoptive father left him locked in acar on a hot summer day. He was 21 months old at the time of his death.
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