The mother said that her son was injured while playing: after the death of the 5-year-old child, a bullet was found in his head

In the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district of Odesa region, police are investigating the death of a 5-year-old boy who was taken to hospital in serious condition. At first the mother insisted that her son was injured in the yard while playing with his younger sister. However, after the child’s death an autopsy revealed something completely different: a pellet from an air gun was found in the boy’s head. According to preliminary data, this injury was the cause of death. The Odesa Regional Police reported the tragedy on 1 September 2026. The day before, 31 August, law enforcement received information from medics about the child’s hospitalization in serious condition.

According to the 28-year-old mother, the boy allegedly sustained the injury in the yard while playing with his younger sister. The child was hospitalized, but doctors were unable to save him. After his death an autopsy was carried out. Forensic experts found an air-gun pellet in the head of the 5-year-old boy. Preliminary investigators believe that this wound led to the child’s death.

During initial investigative actions, police established that the death of the boy was connected to the 30-year-old partner of his mother. At the same time, according to the investigation, the 28-year-old woman knew the true circumstances of the tragedy but deliberately tried to conceal this fact. Law enforcement opened immediately two criminal proceedings. The actions related to the child’s death have been provisionally classified under para. 2 part 2 art. 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — intentional murder of a minor child.

Information about the boy’s mother was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under part 1 art. 396 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — premeditated concealment of an especially serious crime. Both the 30-year-old man and the 28-year-old woman were detained in the procedural order. At the time the police report was issued, the question of notifying them of suspicions and choosing preventive measures was being decided. Investigators continue to establish the exact circumstances under which the child received the fatal wound.

Earlier we wrote:

• In Odesa region a 19-year-old man was detained in the case of the murder of a 15-year-old girl
• Mother ordered her 13-year-old son to kill his grandmother: court ruled on the teenager
• Boy drowned in a bathtub: in Mykolaiv his mother was sentenced to 4 years but released from imprisonment
• In Mykolaiv region a stepfather and another man are suspected of sexual violence against a 13-year-old girl
• Mother sentenced to 5 years for the death of her 4-year-old son in Kharkiv. Head of the Child Affairs Service will be tried for negligence