Prosecutors allege Yoder man intentionally shot, killed 6-year-old son
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — In an El Paso County Courtroom Wednesday, prosecutors alleged that Nikolay Krutitskiy pointed a loaded gun at all three of his children back in June of 2020, asking each of them, "do you want me to kill you?" before ultimately pulling the trigger and shooting his youngest son in the neck.
Six-year-old Roman Krutitskiy was rushed to the hospital but died days later.
His father is facing a slew of charges, including first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, and two counts each of menacing and child abuse for allegedly pointing that loaded gun at his other two kids, ages 10 and 12 at the time.
Prosecutors believe Krutitskiy was drunk at the time of the shooting.
Body-worn camera footage was played in court from the evening of the shooting. You can see Krutitskiy talking to officers. His demeanor is erratic, sometimes he's calm and other times he's crying and yelling. He changes his story to law enforcement about what happened. In the hours following the shooting, Krutitskiy said that he shot his son on purpose, he shot his son on accident, and that his son shot himself.
Krutitskiy’s defense attorneys alleged in court that he only took responsibility for the shooting to cover up what really happened, calling it a family tragedy.
Body-worn camera footage from an El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputy also shows Krutitskiy is hysterical as he’s driven from the Yoder Post Office to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office for questioning. He demands to know how his son is doing, saying he’s worried about him. The deputy estimated that he asked about his son's condition roughly 50 times. He’s also heard saying that he loves his son through tears.
The defense also stated in court that there’s no physical evidence that backs up the prosecution’s story.
The bulk of Wednesday's testimony was from law enforcement and crime scene investigators.
Testimony picks back up at 9 a.m. Thursday at the El Paso County Courthouse.
