Young boy wounded protecting mom from drunken ex-con dies not knowing she abandoned him

Heroic teenager Ivan Krapivin, who received horrific head wounds in an attempt to protect his mom from a drunken neighbor, has died in the hospital after over a year in a coma. He never learned that his mother gave up on him.

Ivan’s story has touched the hearts of many across Russia after being aired on state TV. Numerous people raised money and offered their assistance to facilitate the boy’s recovery, but the miracle everybody hoped for was not to happen.

“Ivan departed into a better world today. It’s impossible to accept this or be ready for this,” the sad message, which appeared in a social media group dedicated to the teen on Tuesday, read.

The boy from the northern city of Severodvinsk had been fighting for his life since May of last year when a drunken party, involving his mother and her shared apartment neighbor, ended in tragedy. There was a quarrel and the man, a former convict, attacked the woman with a dumbbell and a knife, delivering several stab wounds to her.

Ivan, 14, rushed to his mom’s rescue without any hesitation, but he was no match for the grown man, who had already served time for murder. The brave boy collapsed after receiving three heavy blows to his head with a dumbbell.

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Ivan was taken to the hospital in regional capital, Archangelsk and then transferred to St. Petersburg. The young hero underwent several surgeries and miraculously survived, but the damage done was immense. The teen was missing the front of his skull; had part of his brain removed, while one of his eyes was dented.

Police detained the attacker and he went to trial on charges of attempted murder of two people. He was sentenced to 14.5 years in prison and ordered to pay compensation of 1 million rubles (around $15,000) to the victims.

Ivan’s story was already heartbreaking, but it got even worse. Several months later, the media revealed that the teen’s mother, who recovered from her wounds, had given up on her son and never visited him in the hospital.

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She was eventually deprived of her parental rights, while custody over Ivan was given to his older brother.

The woman later appeared on a talk show on Rossiya 1 and asked the audience to forgive her. She confessed to having problems with alcohol and said she was ready to go to rehab.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said that it is continuing its probe into the incident so that those responsible face punishment. The investigators have serious questions for child services, district police, and corrections officers, who somehow allowed a woman with an underage child to live under the same roof with a former convict. The family was housed in a shared apartment after their shabby home was demolished as part of a renovation program. 

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