Father Accused of Murder Faces Parental Rights Restriction in Yaroslavl Region

In Yaroslavl Region, a criminal case continues related to the murder of 37-year-old legal consultant from Danilov District Elena Ivanova (name changed. — Ed.). According to investigators, in April 2025 she was killed by her 39-year-old ex-husband. Law enforcement officials said that he stabbed the mother of two children in front of their two-year-old son.

Now, the man accused of murder is facing attempts to restrict his parental rights. Children«s ombudsman Mikhail Krupin has become involved in the case.

“The judge of Danilov Court did not find grounds for restricting the parental rights of the father who killed the mother in front of the child. The murderer inflicted more than 25 knife wounds on the mother. The child was hysterical and screaming. The court considered the evidence provided and the position of the victim«s mother, the family and child affairs agency, and the children»s rights commissioner insufficient. The father admitted to the murder during the court proceedings,” the commissioner«s office reported.

Mikhail Krupin disagreed with the court decision.

“The commissioner«s office will appeal the decision in higher instances,” the ombudsman said.

He also said that the boy is currently living with his grandmother—the mother of the killed Elena.

“The problem is that the permanent legal representative is the father-murderer. The goal of the court hearing was to restrict his rights so that the grandmother could be a full legal representative. The judge refused to restrict parental rights. This is nonsense for all of Russia,” Mikhail Krupin clarified in a conversation with 76.RU.

As a result, the grandmother supports the child at her own expense, without receiving additional payments that could help. She has to renew guardianship every month, since due to the situation she cannot become a full guardian.

How the Tragedy Occurred

Elena last entered her ex-husband«s apartment on April 9, 2025. She wanted to pick up their common son from there. The father had taken the boy from kindergarten without notifying Elena.

According to neighbors« recollections, a quarrel broke out in her ex-husband»s apartment then. Residents of the building said they heard screams and crashes. Then allegedly one of the neighbors called the mother of Elena«s ex-husband to come and calm him down. But it was too late. Preliminarily, by that time the man had grabbed a knife. Later, investigators will say that he stabbed the blade into his son»s mother several times. The toddler, who was in the apartment at the time, saw his father killing his mom. A psychologist later worked with the child.

After the incident, the district administration where Elena worked published a farewell post, under which dozens of comments from grieving people gathered. Everyone remembered Elena as a radiant and good-natured woman. She also left behind an 11-year-old daughter from her first marriage.

The criminal case against her ex-husband is still under investigation. He is in a pre-trial detention center, and the judge set the arrest period until February 9, 2026.