Father of Baby in Stamford Neglect Case Abused Child's Mother: Police

A Ukranian mother arrested when her baby was found malnourished and living in "heinous" conditions said her live-in boyfriend, the baby's father who was also arrested, was abusive, Stamford police said.

Marina Vouk, 27, originally from Usbekatstan, and Igor Kotsopey, 41, were arrested in what police are calling one of the worst cases of child neglect they have seen and police said both of them are dealing with serious alcohol abuse problems.

Kotsopey appeared in court on Wednesday and a judge placed him on mental health watch and ordered that he can't contact his child or Vouk.

Vouk said in a statement translated from Ukranian to police that she and her boyfriend, Kotsopey, have been arguing every day since she had their baby, who she said is now 15 months old.

"Igor gets mad at me that I am not cooking for him or do not have time for him," Vouk said. "He then gets drunk, hits me and then leaves the house. Igor would hit and kick me prior to me having the baby and still does it now, but he never hit me when I was pregnant. When I was pregnant with my son, Igor was nicest to me. He stopped drinking and was not physical with me. He seems like he has two personalities. He is a nice person when he is not drinking but is a beast when he is drinking."

She said one of their arguments happened the day authorities responded to 117 Myrtle Ave on Sept. 28. Her boyfriend had left drunk after an argument and then didn't come home for awhile, which worried Vouk, and she started drinking vodka, she said. Vouk said she became drunk and started hallucinating, so she used her neighbor's cell phone to call 911 to say she was having a medical problem, police said. Officers initially responded thinking it could be a call about a miscarriage, police said.

Officers found her severely dehydrated and malnourished, caring for her toddler, according to police. She said she didn't remember much after getting put in an ambulance besides getting sick from the alcohol. 

First responders  "were pretty much disgusted by what they saw," police said. They found the baby malnourished and dehydrated, sitting in a crib infested with bugs and feces all over his body, police said. Spoiled food had large amounts of ants and insects crawling on it, police said. The crib and bed were soiled and yellow with possible urine, police said.

The smell of rotting food in the house was overwhelming and police said it was also littered with empty liquor bottles and garbage. 

"Multiple food wrappers, vodka bottles, beer cans strewn across the whole room," Stamford Lt. Diedrich Hohn said. ".... It shocked everyone; just the heinous nature of just how disheveled this house was.”

If the baby had remained in the "heinous" conditions much longer, he could have died, authorities said.

Stamford firefighters removed the child from the home and took him to Stamford Hospital.

"He drank three bottles of milk within an hour period," Hohn said.

The baby is now out of the hospital and the state Department of Children and Families has removed the infant from his parents’ custody and placed him in foster care, police said.

Vouk had bruises on her legs and said, through a translator because she speaks Ukranian, that she "did it to herself," police said in the arrest warrant. She told police "she was very scared" and afraid of Kotsopey, her live-in boyfriend and the father of her child, police said. She said through a translator that Kotsopey hit her that day.

On Tuesday, in a written statement translated from Ukranian, she said Kotsopey kicked her in the ribs, telling police "When he hits me he always hits me on my body where my clothes cover it and he never hits me in my face."

"When he hits me he slaps me on my body with an open hand and kicks my body with his feet. The bruises that I had on my legs the day I went to the hospital were from him kicking me," Kotsopey said. "I don't know which day the bruises were from because he kicks me so often and I always have bruises on my legs."

She said she doesn't drink much because she is still breast feeding her son and occasionally drinks socially. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, goes through a cycle of not drinking and then binge drinking, she told police. A couple years ago he swelled up from alcohol consumption and was hospitalized, she said.

The Stamford Police Special Victims Unit took over the case, applied for a warrant and charged Vouk with risk of injury to a minor when she was released from the hospital on Tuesday. She has been released on a promise to appear.

Police said the baby’s father, Igor Kotsopey, also lives at that house and was hospitalized after police found him drunk and passed out on a sidewalk around the corner in the area of 200 Shippan Avenue. That was two hours before they found his baby in unsanitary conditions, according to police.

Police brought the father to Stamford Hospital, where he remained for a week. When he was released on Oct. 5, he was arrested on a warrant. He is being held on bonds for two separate warrants for a risk of injury charge in a domestic violence incident, a $50,000 bond, and third-degree assault, disorderly conduct and risk of injury to a child in the child neglect case, a $20,000 bond.

Vouk said she has been living in the United States for the past eight years and that she has been in a relationship with Kotsopey for seven. She said that Kotsopey is a construction worker and lost his job about a week ago, so he's been drinking heavily. He's lived in Connecticut for 14 years. He told the court that he was married to Vouk, but she identified him as her boyfriend.

The couple does not have an attorney at this point and will likely use a public defender, according to police.

The Stamford Health Department was called in to inspect the home, which remains off-limits until the health department can clean it up.

The baby is out of the hospital and in foster care.

Kotsopey is due back in court on Nov. 10.

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