Dead boy's adoptive dad tries for parole
Thursday, December 06, 2007
BY RALPH R. ORTEGA
The Star-Ledger
She mopped floors, attended Bible study and completed self-help courses to seek her freedom after convictions for child abuse and manslaughter in the death of her young adopted son in Hunterdon County seven years ago. But the one thing Brenda Matthey didn't do was admit her part in 7-year-old Viktor's death, according to a state parole board decision that denied her release last month.
"Inmate accepts no responsibility, or remorse for crime," was hand-written on the panel's decision after an October hearing. It was the 42-year-old woman's last chance for release before her sentence reaches its maximum in 2009. Today, the parole board will determine whether her husband has been reformed. Robert Matthey, 44, is expected to appeal for his release from Southwood State Prison, where he is serving time for Viktor's death.
Today, the parole board will determine whether her husband has been reformed. Robert Matthey, 44, is expected to appeal for his release from Southwood State Prison, where he is serving time for Viktor's death.
"I hope that he gets released. I think that he's learned from his bad choices," said Matthey's mother, Phyllis Matthey-Johnson, who sided with prosecutors against the Mattheys.
The verdicts held the couple accountable for the end of Viktor's life, after he and his younger twin brothers were adopted by the Mattheys from a Russian orphanage in December 1999.
Viktor's life with the Mattheys was a nightmare, according to prosecutors, who accused the couple of locking the child in a basement pump room of their Union Township home as a form of punishment. He died of hypothermia 10 months after his adoption, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. The Mattheys accepted responsibility in Viktor's death under a plea deal and were given four-year prison terms on the manslaughter charges at their May sentencing. Their sentences ran concurrently with those on related 2004 child abuse convictions, which were dropped from 10 to seven years.
For the remaining article: http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/nj/index.ssf?/base/news-
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Parents on trial for adopted son's death
Published: 27 Feb 06 18:42 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.se/3153/
The adoptive parents of a three year old boy who died after untreated wounds led to blood poisoning appeared before Jönköping district court on Monday accused of manslaughter.
In the mass of research material presented to the court were horrific pictures of the boy's injuries. When his mother eventually called an ambulance to their residence in the Jönköping area, the boy showed no signs of life."It's clear that the boy must have been in enormous pain," said prosecutor Stefan Edwardson.
For the rest of the article: http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3153&date=20060227
