Russian boy's Texas death ruled accidental

CHICAGO (AFP) - The death of a young boy adopted from Russia at his Texas home was an accident and the bruises found on his body were self-inflicted, a coroner ruled in a case that ignited a diplomatic row.

Russian officials had claimed that three-year-old Max Shatto (born Maxim Kuzmin) was tortured and murdered by his adoptive mother, whipping up a storm of controversy less than two months after Russia banned US adoptions.

But four doctors who reviewed the autopsy results cleared his adoptive parents of wrongdoing, officials said in a statement.

The autopsy concluded that Max - whose mother found him unconscious in the backyard and rushed him to hospital - died from a lacerated artery in his bowel due to blunt force trauma in his abdomen.