Prosecutions rests case against Yoder man who allegedly killed 6-year-old son

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Prosecutors finished presenting evidence late Friday in an attempt to prove that 35-year-old Nikolay Krutitskiy pointed a gun at all three of his young children last June, before shooting and killing his youngest, 6-year-old Roman.

Krutitskiy's family told investigators that he had been drinking most of the day before the shooting. The defense argues that not only was the shooting an accident, but it's possible the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

All three kids and both parents rushed into their family car and sped off to the Yoder Post Office to get enough service to call 911. It's roughly 11 miles from their home in Yoder, Colorado where investigators believe the shooting took place. Roman was rushed to the hospital from there, but died days later after suffering organ failure and strokes due to blood loss, after being shot in the neck.

In a recorded interview with Krutitskiy's son, who was 10 years old last June, he told a trained interviewer two days after the shooting that his dad asked each of his kids, "do you want me to kill you?" before pulling the trigger and killing Roman.

Nikolay's daughter, who was 12 years old at the time, told a separate interviewer that her father said either, "safe or no?" or "good or no?" before pulling the trigger. Krutitskiy's wife, and the mother of the three kids, testified that her daughter has trouble with her memory, but she did not say the same about her surviving son.

Both kids told interviewers that they believed the shooting was an accident.

In a recorded interview conducted the morning after the shooting, Krutitskiy asks investigators several times if his son is okay. He claims he doesn't remember what he said to his kids, and said he was unloading and reloading his gun when it accidentally went off. When a detective asks how many times he asked his kids if he wanted them to shoot them, he responded with, "did I say that?" He's crying and holding his head in his hands for most of the recorded interview that was played in the courtroom Friday.

A firearms expert testified on Friday saying the gun that shot Roman was a single-action firearm, which means there are several steps that need to be taken before it's fired. The cylinder needs to be placed in the gun, the safety needs to be disengaged, the gun needs to be loaded, the hammer needs to be fully cocked, and the trigger needs to be pulled. This particular firearm is more difficult to load when the hammer is fully cocked, but it is possible to be loaded when the hammer is in that position.

The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on 6-year-old Roman also testified Friday. He said that based on the trajectory of the bullet lodged in Roman's neck, the child would have to have the gun in his hand with his arm all the way in the air firing down on himself. He also didn't find any evidence of the weapon being fired at a close range, but he couldn't definitively rule that possibility out.

Krutitskiy is facing six charges, first-degree murder of a child under the age of 12 by a person in a position of trust, child abuse resulting in death, two counts of child abuse, and two counts of menacing.

The defense made a motion after the prosecution rested, asking the judge to dismiss every charge Krutitskiy is facing, saying there isn't enough evidence. The judge denied that motion.

The defense is expected to start calling witnesses Monday afternoon. It's not expected to take long as both sides plan to give the decision over to the jury by the end of the day on Monday. KRDO is the only news outlet with a reporter in the courtroom.