Mum accused of throwing daughter from 5th floor

24 Apr, 2008 09:47 / Updated 16 years ago

A Russian mother has been accused of killing her seven-year-old daughter by allegedly throwing her from a window twice, before jumping herself. Both died. An investigation has been launched.

The bodies of Tatyana and her daughter Anya were discovered early in the morning outside their five storey house. The incident has shocked residents in Rubtsovsk, a town in Siberia's Altay region. Witnesses have reportedly told police that after throwing her child from the 5th floor, the woman came down to check on the girl. “We heard a child crying. She'd fallen with a big thud. Then the mother came downstairs barefoot. She climbed over the fence and grabbed the girl, then went upstairs and threw her out again,” a neighbour said. After this, the woman is said to have jumped herself. Neighbours suggest a family argument may be behind the tragedy. According to them, Tatyana wanted to prove something to her husband, after he married another woman. Investigators say the woman was not known to have any mental health problems, nor was she intoxicated at the time. They claim a suicide note was found at the crime scene. But it is unlikely to bring any comfort to an elder daughter, who's been left behind.