A man has been arrested for throwing his 84-year-old mother-in-law to her death from a fifth-floor balcony in the Russian city of Artyom, reportedly because he considered her ‘too burdensome’.
The incident occurred when the man, aged 54, dropped the elderly woman from an apartment building, causing fatal injuries upon impact. Police have detained him on suspicion of murder.
According to reports, the suspect confessed that he wanted to relieve his son of the responsibility of caring for the elderly woman, who had limited mobility. Feeling that her care was too much to bear, he threw her from the balcony.
The suspect has been placed in custody for two months pending further investigation. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
This tragic incident follows closely after another disturbing case where Katarina Jovanovic, 28, from Lauffen am Neckar, Germany, was sentenced to seven and a half years in jail for dropping her newborn daughter out of a window, fearing that the baby would negatively impact her career.