The Cravaers were back on court this week . Both courts. The results were as expected.
Wednesday morning, York County Common Pleas Court Judge John S Kennedy, who presided at their trial, denied separate appeals from the Cravers for retrials. The couple, who earlier escaped death penalty specs, was tried for murder, but convicted on lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of child endangerment, and conspiracy. They appealed their case on the flimsy grounds that their convictions were "against the weight of the evidence." The Cravers were charged in the death of their adoptive son Vanya Skorobogatov who died of severe beatings and malnutrition in 2009. In their appeals, the couple argued that with their convictions and probations hanging over their heads, they can't find work and have been forced to move in with friends. Michael Craver is reportedly an Air Force veteran and an engineer by profession..
Thrown into the pot (which I'd not seen published before) was the couple's request that their court costs of nearly $100,000 be cut half.
Some people just don't' know when to quit.when they're ahead.
Kennedy said he wished state law would allow him to order the Cravers to pay the costs of their defense as well.
But because the Cravers were represented by public defenders and
court-appointed counsel, they cannot be billed for defense fees, chief
deputy prosecutor Tim Barker said.
"The taxpayers of York County should be reimbursed" for defense
costs, as well as prosecution costs, Kennedy said. He noted the Cravers
have earning potential, unlike many other defendants who will never be
able to pay off their court costs.
Defense attorneys declined to say how much defense fees totaled, and that information is not available to the public.
I'm surprised that the public defender costs aren't public information. They should be. After all, the public paid the bill. Over 30 years ago I was part of a defense team in a successful capital murder appeal in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Our costs were around $100,000 in 1978 money. It should have twice that, but a good part of the work was pro bono and the defendant went pro se. The state's cost was over $200,000 and came close to busting the county prosecutor's bank account. Of course, if the Cravers had been able to hire their own lawyers the costs would have taken them on a trip to Mars, and they might have gotten a worse.deal. . They got off cheap and lucky and should be happy.
The Dispatch doesn't mention what the Cravers plan to do now, but the next step, if they pursue it, would be to take their appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Hours before the Cravers were in York County Common Pleas Court crying innocent, and poor, the Moscow City Court was busy upholding an earlier ruling refusing to issue an Interpol arrest warrant on the couple to haul them back to Moscow for a show trial. The article which appears in different forms from RIA Novosti and the Russian Legal Inforamtion Agency (scroll down and hit link) is awkwardly translated in English, and leaves a big hole in the story. According to both sources, though, the court also dismissed an appeal filed by Vanya's aunt. This is the first time we've heard of an aunt trying to bring charges.
Last week Michael and Nanette Craver, convicted last month of involuntary manslaughter in the death of their adopted Russian son Vanya Skorobogatov filed separate post-sentencing appeals with Judge John S. Kennedy, the presiding judge of their trial. They argue that the verdicts were "against the weight of the evidence." The appeals are not online, but according to the York Dispatch, Cravers ask judge to overturn their convictions and grant them new trials,:the couple argues:
prosecutors presented no evidence
to show either parent physically abused Nathaniel, other than testimony
from a forensic pathologist who said he believed the injuries were
intentionally inflicted....
...The forensic pathologist testifying for the defense told jurors
there was no evidence the injuries were intentionally inflicted, and a
number of medical experts testified to Nathaniel's "numerous and serious
medical and mental-health conditions," including self-injury, according
to Michael Craver's motion
The jury didn't buy that argument and found the couple guilty of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and conspiracy. The couple was originally charged with first degree murder, with an option of death penalty specifications..
If the Cravers' appeal is granted, they can be re-tried only on the charges of which they were convicted, . BUT if they lose again, they could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, rather than their current cushy time-served awaiting trial.
The Cravers obviously don't' know when to quit, especially since their case is edging into international incident territory due to the IC's attempt to extradite them to Moscow for a taste of Russian justice--and to take custody of Vanya's twin sister Dasha Skorobogatova in the process. Dasha, still a Russian citizen, as was Vanya, is currently, in the care of an adoptive aunt..
My educated guess is that Judge Kennedy will not grant the appeal motions since he, agreed with the verdict:
.
"It was an appropriate and just verdict," he said. "The physical
evidence ... did not establish there was intentional infliction of
injuries on Nathaniel. ... Certainly there was reasonable doubt
presented."
If Kennedy doesn't grant the motions, the next step will be to take the case to the Pennsylvania Superior Court for consideration.
The Cravers legal team says the couple maintains their innocence and want to prove it, but also need an acquittal to re-gain custody of Dasha, whom they haven't seen since their arrest in February. 2010. Rick Robinson, one of Nanette Craver's lawyers. who said last month that the sentence was fair and reasonable, now backpedaling. He says he clients are concerned that their convictions:
establish the ability for Children and Youth
(caseworkers) to attempt to terminate their parental rights for (the
girl)," "They want to have contact with their daughter."
To add to the Craver's woes, they are currently unemployed and unemployable due to their conviction. They are now living with friends, which might mean they lost their home.
In so many words, the Cravers still insist that Vanya killed himself.
Let's stop right now!
I'm not going to go through all the trial testimony, most of it damming for the Cravers, but let's just take the autopsy alone. This is how pathologist Wayne K Ross, who performed the post-mortem on Vanya, described his condition durung the Craver's preliminary hearing, as reported in the April 29, 2010 York Daily Record.
WARNING: Graphic language ahead
Ross said the injuries to Nathaniel's swollen head were caused by
repetitive blunt force trauma. He made the same observation as to the
numerous bruises on the boy's arms, legs, chest, abdomen and torso.
The only part of the boy's body the pathologist did not take note of was the bottom of his feet.
Pictures taken at Hershey Medical Center by Carroll Township Police
Sgt. John Schreiner reportedly showed an emaciated boy with gauze
covering his head where surgeons had removed a piece of his skull to
relieve the pressure on his swollen brain.
The exhibits - 18 hospital and autopsy photos and a cat scan - were
passed by Barker to the defense attorneys and the district justice. They
were not visible to onlookers in the courtroom.
Ross said the boy "looked like he was starved to death" and had "less than a millimeter" of body fat at the time of his death.
The pathologist said the boy's face and head were distorted by swelling
and looked "like a balloon."
Nathaniel also had a "classic cauliflower
ear" normally seen on a wrestler, he said...
...Ross's other findings included anemia, brain scarring, indications
that the boy's shoulders and hips had been dislocated and that he had
been bound at the wrists and ankles. He said the time of the injuries
ranged from the 24 hours before being taken to the hospital to up to two
months earlier.
under cross,
Nanette Craver's attorney David Hershey asked
Ross if Nathaniel being diagnosed with reattachment disorder, the lack
of a nurturing environment in a Russian orphanage and whether the boy
was self-destructive and taking anti-psychotic medications would affect
his findings.
Ross suggested deferring the psychological questions to an expert in
that field. He then explained that anyone seeing Nathaniel over a period
of time would have noticed the drastic change in his appearance and
health.
Ross said the final injury to Nathaniel's head that necessitated
taking him to the hospital required "hundreds of pounds of force."
He added the bruising patterns on the boy's head, back and abdomen "were inconsistent with self-abuse."
After nearly two hours on the witness stand, Dr. Wayne K. Ross circled his main point.
The Dauphin County forensic pathologist had performed the autopsy on
Nathaniel Craver in 2009. He had spent Wednesday morning detailing the
injuries he found on the 7-year-old’s body.
Nathaniel’s head: “I don’t just mean a little bit of swelling. I mean
the entire skull and head looked to me like a watermelon or an alien.”
Nathaniel’s brain: “The bottom line is, it was soft as anything. When
you look at the pictures of the brain we took at autopsy, it was purple
and dead ... it was flat and mushy. It was horrible.”
He found evidence that muscles had torn near Nathaniel’s shoulder and
hip joints from being pulled. He found marks indicating the boy had been
bound at his feet and wrists.
He found bruising on Nathaniel’s torso and back showing the boy had been
struck with a “tool type” device over a period of weeks. He found an
untreated broken rib. He found “lakes of blood” under Nathaniel’s skull.
To get there, Nathaniel’s head must have been struck repeatedly.
In the weeks before his death, Ross testified, Nathaniel was starving....
...Was it possible, Barker asked, for Nathaniel to have done this to himself?
It went to the heart of the defense case. Michael and Nanette Craver
have maintained their adopted Russian son constantly abused himself. It
was a manifestation of deep physical and psychological issues stemming
from a harsh early life in Russia, conditions the Cravers have said they
could not stop.
Ross did not hesitate.
“The abuse I see is due to the direct action of another,” Ross said, “not self-abuse.”
Other medical, police, and family backed up Ross on various points..
I really don't see how this evidence can be refuted, despite the defense's expert witness who claimed it was impossible to tell how Vanya was injured. Pathologists do make mistakes, but Vanya's injuries are so massive and extended they cannot be dismissed as self-inflicted. Especially by a 7-year old.
Clearly the jury, though flawed with its involuntary manslaughter verdict, believed that the Cravers were responsible for Vanya/s death through abuse or negligence.. A re-trial won't change that. Whatever happened Michael and Nanette Craver were lousy parents who either caused Vanya's death directly or indirectly. I believe directly.
I haven't yet, found an IC reaction to the Craver's demand for a new trial. The appeals have been reported by the Russian press so we know the IC and Russian Children's Rights Commission director Pavel Askakov know--just in case the US State Deparmtnet didn't know about it.
The Russian Investigative Committee (IC), undetered by yesterday's decision by Moscow's Basmanny Court and the Russian General Prosecutor, to dismiss IC's petition to extradite Michael and Nanette Craver, has declared its intent to continue its prosecution of the couple even if the prosecution has been ruled "illegal.."(see blog directly below this for details)
According to RIA Novisti, Vladimir Markin, spokesperson for the IC said the investigation in to the Cravers will continue no matter what the court rules:
"The refusal of a Russian court to arrest the
Cravers in absentia will not hinder further investigation of the
criminal case in Russia, as well as the international efforts to find
the suspects, detain and extradite them,”
He said that though international laws prohibit a
second sentence for the same crime, it applies only to legal procedures
in one state, within the national jurisdiction.
I have no idea what this second paragraph means. It appears to be a deliberate misreading of US and international law, and the Basammy and General Prosecutor's office's interpretation of both.. There is simply no way for the Cravers to be retried here. Unless there was unique jurisdaictional stipulation in the adoption agreement that gave Russian authorities some kind of authority in legal matters concerning Vanya and his twin sister Dasha, which is I highly doubt, they can't be tried by Russian courts in absentia or in person.
The IC is also taking up Dasha's status:
RIC chief Alexander Bastrykin sent letters to Russian presidential
human rights council head Mikhail Fedotov and human rights ombudsman
Vladimir Lukin to initiate proceedings to strip the Cravers of parental
rights with respect to Ivan’s sister, Dasha.
It is important to ensure Dasha’s early return to Russia, Bastrykin wrote.
Again, it's unclear what the IC thinks it can accomplish, if indeed it wants to accomplish anything. (see last section). Here are some of the hard fact whether people like them or not:
Dasha came
to the US in 2003 at the age of 18 months. She has no parents in Russia to return to, only an understaffed, ill-equipped and abusive orphan system.. By Russian standards she is damaged from her American experience and
unadoptable . The adoption was finalized years ago and Dasha holds dual citizenship until she is 18.
Dasha is currently in foster care. (The New York Times says she's living with an adoptive aunt). York County prosecutors asked the judge in the Craver trial to order the couple to have no contact with Dasha until she is 18, but the judge said he would leave the decision up to child welfare officials.
Earlier reports suggest that Children's Services has no enthusiasm
for returning her to the Cravers custody, though there is no
indication at this time it will seek to terminate their rights, either. The only contact Dasha has had with the Cravers since their arrest in February 2010 has been through supervised correspondence .. .If rights were terminated here--which I think they should be--Dasha would probably remain with the aunt in a foster or adoptive situation or be re-homed in a second stranger adoption. If she is returned (she won't be), she'll most likely in a few years end up in the sex trade or sweatshop where huge numbers of orphanage girls end up.
******
Without getting too Russian...
Clearly something else is going on here. I'll suggest that Vanya, Dasha, the Cravers and we are being bumbled through the fetid labyrinth that passes for Russian politics.
The Investigation Committee is the main federal investigating authority in
the Russian Federation. It was formed in January 2011 an an "independent" body to replace the Investigation Committee of the Prosecutor of the
Russian Federation which like its predecessors,the KGB and NKVD, investigated and prosecuted cases in whatever way it pleased. In theory, then, the IC was set up to streamline criminal justice by separating investigation from prosecution and to dilute the immense authority the Prosecutor General's office had accumulated. It has been compared to the FBI, but it's not.
I 'd like a better source, but for now I'll let Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty pick it up from there to show you the mess::
The prosecutor-general, meanwhile, has been stripped of his authority to
direct investigations, seize property, and initiate criminal cases. [Prosecutor General Yuriy} Chaika, for example, cannot launch criminal proceedings against
Bastrykin -- although Bastrykin can launch proceedings against him.
Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Moscow-based Panorama think tank told RFE.RL:
"Formally
this organization (IC) is part of the Prosecutor-General's Office, but in
fact, if you look at the amount of power he has, [IC Director Aleksandr Ivanovich] Bastrykin, is in fact
another prosecutor-general," Pribylovsky said. "And his role can get
even stronger. If [the Investigative Committee] takes over all the other
investigative agencies and creates a truly unified Investigative
Committee, then it will have enormous power," Pribylovsky added.
I've been puzzled by the interest the IC has taken in the Craver case, and this layout of the IC clears up some of my puzzlement.. Not that the case isn't worthy of scrutiny, but by US and international law standards the attempt to haul the Cravers off to Moscow (or just try them in absentia) is headline inducing, but pointless unless the IC plans to make an international incident and kidnap the couple. The likelihood, of that happening, of course, is nil, since the IC falls under the direct authority of the President of Russia, which in a few more months will again be (as if he isn't now in all but name) Vladimir Putin.who just happens to be IC Director Bastrykin old law school classmate.
I think two things (and probably more) are going on here.
(1) The IC is acting in response to pressure from State Duma members, nationalists, and probably some IC bigwigs, who desperately want to ban cross-country adoption--or at least adoption to the US. The Ministry of Education and Pavel Astakhov have made it clear, however, that they do not want US adoption shut down--just tightened to Russia's advantage. Squeezing every drop they can out of the Cravers can't hurt. They deserve it.
(2) The Craver prosecution is just another cog in the power struggle between the IC and the Prosecutor General.'s office. Although in theory the IC and the Prosecutor General work side-by-side, they are at opposite ends in the Craver case (and mostly likely a lot of other cases) with the Prosecutor telling the IC to take a hike and the IC standing its ground.. I don't see this changing the near future. Too much power is a stake.
As if to make my point, the IC announced today that it plans to investigate more cases of Russian adoptee abuse in the United States:
The Russian Investigation Committee (IC) is going to institute
criminal proceedings on several more facts of the encroachment on
the life of Russian children, adopted by American nationals,
Specificaly cited was Michael Grismor, accused of raping his 15-year old stepdaughter Kseneia., a case I haven't written about, but need to. And I have to wonder why there is not a peep about the Dykstra verdict. Sure that is a heinous as the Craver walk-away.
Vanya, Dasha, Ksenia, and other Russian orphans killed and abused by their Forever Families are a sympathetic front for inside- the- ring-power players.. That doesn't mean that those involved are cold-hearted creeps, though they might be, only that these kids are a cat's paw for something bigger.
Russian media reports tonight that the Moscow Bassamy District Court, backed by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office. has refused to issue a warrant for the in abstensia arrest and trial of Michael and Nannette Craver in the death of their Forever Son, Vanya Skorobogatov. (Nathaniel Craver) Citing double jeopardy, the court said any prosecution of the Cravers by Russian authorities would be "illegal;."
The Cravers, originally charged with homicide (with aborted death penalty specifications), conspiracy and child endangerment, were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in September, and in mid-November were sentenced to time served and 3/1 years probation.. An autopy revealed 80 injuries to the boy including 20 to his head.
The Russian Investigative Committee placed the couple on INTERPOL's wanted list (they have never appeared on the online INTERPOL list) and called for their arrest and trial in absentia.
The prosecutor explained that the U.S. citizens had already been
convicted on this case in their native country, "which means that they
cannot be prosecuted for the same crime in Russia". Therefore, the
prosecutor’s representative (Vanya said that he objects to the arrest of the
U.S. citizens in absentia. In connection with the verdict earlier passed
to the Craver couple in Pennsylvania and in accordance with Article 12
of the Russian Criminal Code the couple are not subject to prosecution
on the territory of the Russian Federation, and their arrest in the
status of defendants is illegal, the source said.
The
investigation’s appeal to arrest the Cravers contains neither necessary
data about their personality nor confirms that they are in hiding, the
prosecutor said. "There are no grounds to put them into custody as a
remand sanction," he stressed.
There is nothing yet in the online version of the Craver's hometown newspaper, the York Daily Record.
This decision comes as no surprise. As I wrote earlier, I didn't see how double jeopardy and the fact that the death occurred on US soil would be prosecutable in Russia. So, as much as we'd like to see justice for Vanya, legally the case is now closed.
******
In a related matter, one of my readers, sent a comment to Nikto regarding Vanya and "attachment therapy." As longtime readers may know, some (and I suspect all or nearly all) Russian adoptees killed by their Forever Families were either "officially" diagnosed with "RAD" or adopter-diagnosed and treated on the fly.. I wrote about this in The Therapeutic Murders of Candace Newmaker, David Polreis, Viktor Matthey, and Jessica Albina Hagmann.
Below is the comment I received regarding Vanya.. I haven't had the time to look into this more yet, but will. In the meantime:.
I might add that Nathaniel was caught up in the infamous Attachment Therapy. As long time readers know, many of the Russian adoptees killed by their Forever Families, were eithre diagnosted officialy with "RAD" or adopteres took it upon themselves to self-diagnose an self-treat. I wrote about this in Attachment
Therapist Lark Eshleman (certified school psychologist) was recommended
to the Cravers by a prestigious Philadelpia hospital. In her book,
Eshleman uses Attachment Therapy's unofficial, catch-all definition of
"Reactive Attachment Therapy," which demonizes adoptees. At the
Craver's trial, Eshleman claimed the boy not only had "RAD," but was
self-injuring because of it.
According to Eshleman, "RAD"
children are "aggressive," "destructive," prey on others, are
oppositional liars, etc. However, RAD, as defined in the DSM-IV, has no
aggressive or violent features associated with it -- and no
self-injuring behaviors. RAD children may possibly tend to be
risk-takers but that it not the same thing.
So
if Nathaniel was self-injurious, which appears unlikely considering the
autopsy results, he was either misdiagnosed and not treated
appropriately, or he was, as so many adopted children have been,
diagnosed with the bogus "RAD" disorder simply because he walked into
the office of an Attachment Therapist.
There was another bizarre
claim made by a so-called adoption specialist in connection with this
case that the press swallowed whole. This nonsense claim is discussed
here:
Advocates
for Children in Therapy has found links to numerous adopted child abuse
and death cases to Attachment Therapy and its parenting methods. Here
are cases they know about:
It
is not unusual to find government agencies and government-funded
agencies recommending Attachment Therapy/Parenting. Since a case could
reasonably be made that this unvalidated practice is actual torture,
public funding of the practice in the USA should be considered a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture.
The Cravers aren't talking about Russia's attempt to extradite them for the murder of their Forever Son, Vanya Skorobogatov, but one of their lawyers is.
I don't think (Russia) can have any
jurisdiction over them," said Suzanne Smith, who represented Michael
Craver. "I don't think any court in the United States would honor (such)
an extradition warrant."
U.S. citizens are protected from double jeopardy laws, and the
Cravers were already legally tried here, Smith said. Also, the Russians
don't have jurisdiction in the case, despite the fact they appear to be
arguing Nathaniel was a Russian citizen, she said.
"(Russian officials) are just saying, 'We're not happy with the
result. We want to do it our way,'" Smith said. "Well, you don't get to
do that. I don't know anyone who would recognize Russians' authority in
this particular case. They don't really have any."
District Attorney Tom Kearney, agrees, saying that any attempt to retry the Cravers would run into double jeopardy issues
The question of whether one was properly tried
... is in the eyes of the beholder," he said. "We certainly believe they
were. We devoted substantial resources into the prosecution, and the
jury made the call. ... And the judge seemed to think it was the right
call."
I found it strange that no one commented that the crime happened on US soil, and the citizenship of the victim (which could be a matter of debate anyway) doesn't play in to it--giving the Russian government no jurisdiction to prosecute. American justice, in my opinion, failed dismally in this case, but there's nothing to be done about that now outside of working to keep Dasha away from the Cravers, socially shunning the couple, and perhaps some kind of civil action..
The Cravers are still not on the INTERPOL online database. If they do appear, I suspect it won't be until next week's show trial starts up in Moscow. I've got some questions about how that will operate myself and am still digging around.
Russian media reports that the Russian government is ready to charge US citizens Michael and Nanette Craver with murder in the death of their adopted son, Ivan Skorobogatov, (Nathaniel Craver) 7. Two months ago, the couple, originally charged with homicide (with aborted death penalty specifications), conspiracy and child endangerment, was found guilty by a jury in York County, Pennsylvania, of involuntary murder Last Friday, they were sentenced to 19 months time- served while awaiting trial, and placed on five years probation. An autopsy revealed Vanya had80 external injuries, including 20 to his head and suffered from malnutrition. He died after being taken off life support. Incredibly, a jury bought the Cravers' defense that Vanya died of repeated self-inflicted injuries and mutilations.due to FAS, See, the Forever Couple simply neglected to care for him correctly!
According to an ITAR-TASS story filed on November 21 the Cravers have been (or will be) placed on the INTERPOL Wanted List. As of this writing they are not on the INTERPOL online database, but I'll keep checking.
The Russian Investigative Committee charged in absentia the Craver spouses with murder accusations of Vanya Skorobogatov in the US and puts them on the international wanted list through the Interpol.
“Today the main investigation department of the Russian Investigative Committee accused the spouses Michael John and Nannette Louise Cravers under Article 105 Part 2 points v and zh for murder of an underage child, which was in the hopeless position, by a criminal group,” spokesman for the Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin said. “The detectives found that the spouses, which adopted a Russian citizen Vanya Skorobogatov, killed him.”
Vanya before he got his Forever Famil
“The relevant documents were submitted in the Interpol National Central Bureau under the Russian Interior Ministry, on the basis of which the accused were put on the international wanted list in all Interpol member-countries seeking to find the place, where they are staying, detain and extradite them for the investigation in Russia,” he said.
“The investigation continues,” Markin said.
Even more interesting, the Cravers are scheduled to be tried in the Basmanny District Court of Moscow the afternoon of November 28.for Vayna's murder in absentia
******
Neither the INTERPOL request or the trial in abstenia comes as a surprise As soon as the Craver verdict came down, Russian officials threatened to "take action." The day before the Investigation Commission filed charges against the Cravers, Russian Foreign Minister AlexanderLukashevish blasted the verdict and the US justice system:
“The Cravers who tortured to death the seven-year-old boy were released after having spent only 18 months under arrest. The court sentence is amazingly and flagrantly irresponsible,” he said.
“The attorney insisted on the capital punishment. He said that Vanya’s death was the fault of his adoptive parents. They brutalized the child, brought him to exhaustion and inflicted a heavy head injury on him that proved to be fatal,” Lukashevish said.
“Much more severe sentences are passed on Russian citizens who stand trial in the U.S. on the suspicion of criminal intents. This fact does not create assuredness that U.S. court hearings of other humanitarian cases will be unbiased. That does not help the development of the bilateral human rights dialog,” he said.
“Hopefully, the entry into force of the bilateral agreement on cooperation in inter-country adoptions, which is ready for ratification, will drastically change the position of Russian children adopted by U.S. families and make such outrageous situations impossible,” Lukashevich said.
(The Russian Foreign Ministry website, (from which this quote it taken, isn't downloading, in either its English or Russian version) so I'm using the English-language ITAR-TASS version.)
Duma members were also outraged. Foreign Affairs Committee chair Konstantin Kosachev said the verdict was politically biased..
******
Prvada, in a follow-up report to the November 21, ITAR-TASS release says that Russia's Ombudsman for Children's Rights, Pavel Astakhov, has discussed (at what length goes unreported) the case with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Attorney General Eric Holder. Astakhov reportedly tweeted, ( I can't find Astakhov's Twitter account to verify) "I believe Clinton must take Ivan's case under special control and attain justice."
Pravda also reports that Astakhov told Holder that "prosecutors must appeal the sentence."
Of course, that won't happen, and Astakhov. who holds a doctorate in law from Pitt, knows it. He is very good at what he does and never says or does anything without a good reason, He knows there is no way the Russians or INTERPOL can execute a warrant on the Cravers since the murder--and it was murder--occurred on US soil. .The show trial next week in Moscow--we know how it will turn out-- is the only trick the Russians have to show any kind of justice, real or otherwise, for Vanya. It also makes a point to the US that murder has consequences, even if they may turn out empty.--but not as empty as the farce in York.Ultimately, as all adoption politics, it's just kubuki. This play is just on the grander scale of the international stage. The good part, though, in my opinion, is that this play, while dirtying America's adoption's nose in its own shit, will also make it impossible for the Cravers to ever adopt again (if they would dare try) and gives Vanya's twin sister Dasha, now in care, a good shot at staying out of the Cravers' clutches. Forever.
Go to the righthand sidebar here for more on Vanya.
Once again, the dust and bone of a dead Russian adoptee has been swept under the rug. After spending 19 months in jail awaiting trial (and after trial on the street waiting sentencing) for the murder of Ivan Skorobogatov, 7, his forever parents Michael J and Nanette L Craver are walking.
Vanya and his twin sister Dasha (now known as Elizabeth) were adopted
in 2003 from an orphanage in Troitsk, Chelyabinsk region, through
Lutheran Social Services of the South. The agency is no longer accredited in Russia.
Vanya, lasting longer (as far as we know) than the other dead Russian adoptee, died on August 25, 2009 of what York County, Pennsylvania
authorities describe as severe beating and malnourishment. The
autopsy revealed Vanya suffered
80 external injuries, including 20 to his head. After a six month
investigation, the Cravers were charged with homicide,
conspiracy and child endangerment. In May 2010, York County
Senior deputy prosecutor Jennifer Russell,
citing Vanya's age and the state's contention that his death constituted
torture, said she would seek the death penalty.
But the best laid plans...
Instead, in September this year, when the Cravers got
their day, a jury of their so-called peers bought the couple's claim that Vanya suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and injured and abused himself repeatedly. More specifically, the night before his death, the boy "run headlong into a stove." Not to put a too sensational spin on this, but Vanya committed suicide.just like David Polreis beat himself to death with a wooden spoon.
I need to go through trial news reports, but from a quick scan, it appears twin Dasha did not suffer FAS and suffered no injuries or abuse.Curious.
After the verdict came down, the Cravers were sent home to to wait for their sentencing hearing held Friday.
The Cravers were sentenced to time served
After sentencing, Chief Deputy Prosecuto Tim Barker told the press:
We're talking here about a 7 year old killed by others. Whatever degree of homicide, it was
still homicide...“Never
once was there an ounce of emotion by the defense toward Nathaniel
Craver, or even a remote understanding of what they did
to their adopted son.
The Cravers are currently on probation. Dasha is in care, and visitation plans are under negotiation.. Incredible!
The Russian media and government have watched the case closely, and the Russian Foreign Ministry is investigating what kind of action it can take. . The New York Times reported today:
The Cravers, who tortured the
7-year-old child to death, were released after staying a mere year and a
half under arrest,” Alexander Lukashevich, a Foreign Ministry
spokesman, said Saturday in a statement, according to the Interfax news
service. “The court verdict is amazingly and flagrantly irresponsible."
Russian officials said they were conducting their own investigation and might seek an arrest warrant for the couple.
I suspect that the chance of an international arrest over the case is nil; nonetheless I'd like to see a go at it.
There's a lot to this case; some of which I've written about previously.. I have to go through several trial articles, so I'm not writing a lot about the case today. I plan to continue this blog in a day or so. In the meantime for more information, go to the righthand sidebar under "Ivan Skorobogatov." and Summary of All Cases. (on Nikto)
I have obtained new information on the Ivan Skorobogtov/Nathaniel Craver murder case.
Ivan/Nathaniel was adopted from Dom Rebyonka #9 in Troitsk, Chelyabinsk region. He was placed through Lutheran Social Services of the South, Austin, Texas. LSS lost its accreditation on May 20, 2005 and closed its Russian program. The adoption took place when LSS was accredited.
On June 14, the Michael and Nanette Craver pled not guilty to all charges at their arraignment hearing. Defense attorney Gerald Lord says he has no idea when the case will go to trial. It may start as late as next year. In May, the York County Senior deputy prosecutor Jennifer Russell, citing Vanya's age and the state's contention that his death constituted torture, said she would seek the death penalty.
The Russian government is watching the case closely.
I've done some long-due updating on my Memoriam page, adding Nathaniel Craver born Ivan Skorobogatov. Vanya died August 25, 2009, the result of severe beating and malnourishment. After a 6-month investigation, on February 26, 2010, His Forever Parents, Michael and Nanette Craver were arrested and charged with felony homicide, conspiracy, and child endangerment. The Cravers are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 29. I've been trying to dig out agency information, but nothing so far.
I have also added the Cravers to my "Killers" page and done a couple updates and clean-ups in other cases.
Brian Dykstra, accused of killing Ilya Kargyntsev/Isaac Dykstra is finally going to trial. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for April 29 and trial date set for May 10,2010. See the Memoriam page for details of the case.
Mirah Riben, author of The Dark Side of Adoption and The Stork Market appeared on the English language Russian Television (RT) yesterday to discuss international adoption corruption and the death of Russian adoptee Nathaniel Craver, born Ivan Skorobogatov. Vanya, 7, died on August 25, 2009 after being taken off life support. In 2003, he and his twin sister Dasha (now known as Elizabeth) were adopted from an orphanage in Chelyabinsk. His forever family, Michael Craver, 45 and Nanette, 54 Craver have been charged with homicide, conspiracy and child endangerment. The autopsy revealed Vanya suffered 80 external injuries, including 20 to the head. The Cravers are currently being held in the York County Jail with no bond.
The case has been handled very badly by authorities in Carroll Twn, Pennsylvania where the boy lived. This is a big story in Russia and it won't' go away.
I have been collecting information on the case, and have gotten behind in posting due to other work. I'll have something shortly.
