Girl, three, freezes to death after ‘sleepwalking into unheated 5F (-15C) hallway’ without her parents realising in Russia
- Angelina, three, was found dead in the unheated hallway of her Russian home
- Temperatures in the space dropped down to 5 F (-15 C) on December 4
- She was found by her mother Svetlana Kuleshova, 23, after not finding her in bed
- The girl was prone to sleepwalking, her mother said, and got stuck in the hallway
- Police have opened a criminal case for causing death through negligence
A three-year-old girl froze to death in Russia after she sleepwalked into her family home’s unheated 5 F (-15 C) hallway without her parents realising, her mother claims.
Angelina, three, was found dead near the front door of her home by her mother Svetlana Kuleshova, 23 after the woman failed to find her in her bed.
The family reportedly celebrated the birthday of their younger daughter, who turned one, the evening before the incident occurred in Russia’s southern town of Satka.
Three-year-old Angelina (left) who froze to death in the hallway of her family home in Russia, and with with her mother Svetlana Kuleshova, 23 (right). Kuleshova told police that her daughter likely sleepwalked into their home’s unheated hallway in 5 F (-15 C) temperatures
Recalling the evening, Svetlana said to the local police: ‘I put Angelina to bed and she fell asleep before midnight.
‘We [Svetlana and her husband] watched a little TV and went to bed too.
‘When we woke up in the morning, we did not find her in her bed. We found her in the hall. She was lying on the floor.’
According to Angelina’s parents, she was prone to sleepwalking and they often had to ease her back to bed.
But on the night on the tragedy, which occurred a week ago, on December 4, none of them noticed her leaving her room.
The mother believes Angelina sleepwalked into the hall, which is a not heated area of the family’s house, and could not find her way back.
Svetlana added: ‘She was a sleepwalker. [She] went to the hall and failed to return back.
‘Most likely she didn’t find the door handle in the dark and could not go back in.’
Kuleshova (right) told police that neither she nor her husband heard their daughter Angelina (left) get out of bed and leave her room. The found her lying in the hallway after finding that she was not in her bed on December 4, and believe she could not find her way back
The mother says both she and her husband did not hear any sounds throughout the horrible night.
Police launched a criminal case for causing death through negligence against the mother, who faces up to two years in jail if convicted.
Local law enforcement official Mikhail Krokhin commented: ‘The investigation established that the girl left the indoor area of the house on her own.
She walked in the hall where she suffered from hypothermia and died.’
Reports say the temperature in the hall, where the girl died, was 5 F (-15 C).
Police have opened a criminal investigation into the mother for causing death through negligence. She faces up to two years in jail if convicted. Pictured: The family home where Angelina died in the unheated hallway. In the winter, temperatures in the town Satka can drop to as low as 1 F (-17 C)
The family reportedly celebrated the birthday of their younger daughter, who turned one, the evening before the incident occurred in southern Russia’s town of Satka (pictured). The younger daughter has reportedly been taken by child protective services
In the winter, the average temperatures in the town of Satka can drop to 1F (-17C), with one-off days sometimes falling to as low as -13F (-25C).
Svetlana’s baby daughter was taken away from her by social services.
The child will be staying in an orphanage at least until the investigation is over, say reports.
Psychologists are to talk to Svetlana in order to verify the sincerity of her testimony, the prosecutor’s office said.