In what will come across as a really startling development, a toddler has been killed by his own grandparents.

The little boy was allegedly strangled to death and thrown in an oven by his grandparents after he ‘cried too much’ while they were babysitting.

Devastated parents Maria, 20, and Dmitry, 25, returned home to find only the clothes of their son Dima, 2. They discovered his remains dumped outside the house in the snow, according to law enforcement in Russia.

The grandparents, aged 52 and 48, were both ‘heavily drunk’ as they became irritated with the little boy’s tears, Plohie Novosti reports.

The accused couple, who have not been named in Russian media, was arrested on suspicion of murder after the tragedy in the Kuybyshevsky district of Novokuznetsk.

A statement from the Russian Investigative Committee (IC) in the Kemerovo region said: ‘They located the little boy’s clothes in the house, but not him.

‘The grandparents were both in the state of strong alcoholic intoxication.

‘Next to the house the parents found the body of their son in the snow, and called investigators of local IC and police.

‘Forensic analysis will establish the exact reason for the little boy’s death.’

The child’s other grandmother posted online saying: ‘Our poor little boy, how could we not save you?’