A mother in Pennsylvania has described the moment she returned home to find her roommate allegedly attempting to push her five-year-old son out of a third-floor window. The woman, identified as Karen Garcia, had left her two children, aged five and 11, in the care of 41-year-old Vira Zabudko while she ran errands.
According to a criminal complaint, when Garcia returned to the apartment in Fayette County, Zabudko refused to let her inside. After forcing her way in, Garcia said she found Zabudko trying to push the five-year-old through the window screen. A struggle ensued, during which Zabudko allegedly ordered the child to take a shower “to wash the sins out because he is dirty.”
Police said Garcia managed to escape with both children, and all three were found soaking wet. Zabudko has been charged with aggravated assault, two counts of unlawful restraint, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, and simple assault. She was booked into Fayette County Jail and later released on bond.
Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele expressed concern over the alleged comments about washing away sins, noting a possible mental health component. “I don’t know of any religion that would reasonably think that throwing a child or drowning a child was going to wash somebody of sins,” he said. Zabudko, a Ukrainian national, is due back in court on April 9.
