A 17-year-old Russian teenager arrested in St Petersburg for repeatedly cutting his mother in an attempted killing had recently been associating with a dubious crowd, the Telegram news channel 78 reported on 6 November.
According to the channel, the detained boy's brother said their mother had complained about the teenager's friends prior to the attack. However, the brother said the youth had not shown any aggression at home.
The suspect's brother told the outlet that because he lives in another city, some matters might have been kept from him. Even so, he said their mother had complained about his brother's behaviour and his troubled circle of friends.
According to the relative, their mother had also said that the 17-year-old was staying out late until night. He added that there was an apartment where the teenager and his group of companions hung out together.
Claims from the St Petersburg suspect's brother
Speaking about their upbringing, the brother noted that their father had raised them harshly and raised his hand against them. Despite that strict household and their mother's complaints about the boy's dubious company, the brother said he did not believe the youth could have attacked their mother.
Instead, the detained teenager's brother said he believes the 17-year-old could have been forced to take the blame for the attack upon himself.
It was reported earlier that a court in St Petersburg had ordered the arrest of the 17-year-old teenager, who together with a 22-year-old friend allegedly tried to kill his own mother.
St Petersburg court arrest and Russian criminal law
Channel 78 is a regional news broadcaster based in St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, that covers local crime, law enforcement and court proceedings on television and through its 78 | NOVOSTI Telegram channel.
Under Russian criminal procedure, a court arrest order places a suspect in pre-trial detention while investigators prepare the case for trial. While the standard age of criminal responsibility in Russia is 16, suspects can be prosecuted from the age of 14 for serious violent offences, including murder and attempted murder.
