Teen suffers horrible death after being turned into human-torch by friends

A 15-year-old boy has died at a Moscow hospital after receiving burns to 98 percent of his body. The story of how he caught fire is absolutely stunning in its gore and senselessness.

Terrible screams and banging sounds woke up the residents of an apartment block in the north-west of the capital late on January 24. Those who decided to check out what was going on witnessed a truly bizarre sight: a human figure, engulfed in flames, hitting the walls and doors in vain attempts to put the fire out.

The burning boy then rushed outside where one of the neighbors and a yard-keeper began tossing snow at him, the witnesses said. Someone called an ambulance and when the medics arrived the victim was still conscious, but couldn’t answer what had happened to him.

The teen was taken to one of Moscow’s best emergency care hospitals, the Sklifosovsky Institute, where the doctors fought for his’s life for three days. But the injuries were too severe and he died on Monday.

A criminal case on “intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm” was launched after the shocking incident. The investigators said that “a canister with smell typical for kerosene” was discovered in the building where the victim and two of his mates were hanging out. One of those young men was detained, with the other being a witness in the case, they added.

The relatives of the burnt teen claimed that it was his friends, identified only as K. and O. in the media, who poured petrol on him and set him on fire. A local kid told the journalists that, according to what he knew, one of the mates (K.) tried to put out the flames, while the other (O.) only laughed and filmed everything on his phone. 

“Knowing their lifestyle, I presume they were boozing and inhaling petrol to get high that night,” he said. It’s currently unclear if the incineration was a cruel punishment or just a practical joke gone horribly wrong.

The parents of O. and his acquaintances insisted that it was all an accident. The victim allegedly poured kerosene over himself out of clumsiness and then made a fatal decision to smoke a cigarette.

It’s up to the police to find out what really happened, but the trio was known as local troublemakers. They were a headache for their schoolmaster, often skipping classes and offending the teachers and other pupils.

Several people claimed that the friends smoked, drank alcohol and did drugs on a regular basis. K. was also accused of being a drug dealer, who has a suspended sentence for car theft.

The teen who got burnt alive was apparently no better, but his acquaintances said he only became a hooligan after befriending K. and O. a few years ago. Before that, he used to be a “kind and helping” guy, they said.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!