“Shortly before that day we brought him presents and a mobile phone to stay in touch. The same evening my brother called me and said he was being humiliated by a boy – I think it was the one he ran away with. The presents we gave him were broken and children took away his teddy bear,” Serezha’s elder sister Olga Tararashkina said.

Friends say social workers are to blame.

“Once we came to the children’s home and were waiting for Serezha. An old woman was guarding the door. A boy aged 10 or 11 years then came out with a pack of cigarettes and she let him out to smoke. Other teenagers could also go outside without any problems either,” Sergey Glebov said, a Serezha’s friend.

The prosecutor dealing with the case says the home had passed the necessary safety requirements.

“We inquired and have already received the so-called anti-terror passports of the school – the ones every educational institution in Russia should have. If there are violations, our office will take action,” acting prosecutor Aleksandr Pokotilo said.

But local police have had problems gaining access to the building. And the media is not welcome either.

Although the boys died several days ago, the children’s home is still refusing to let anybody in or out.

If the court rules that the staff are to blame for the deaths, they could face up to seven years in prison. The minimum punishment is a fine of $4,000.