In Atyrau, the trial of one of the most high-profile criminal cases has come to a close. The court found Sultan Sarsemaliyev guilty of murdering four relatives of his ex-wife, sentenced him to life imprisonment, and explained in detail why it rejected the defense's arguments of self-defense and a state of passion.

A full stop has been placed on a case that shocked the entire country with its brutality. The Specialized Interdistrict Criminal Court of Atyrau Region found Sultan Sarsemaliyev guilty.

During one of the hearings, the state prosecution asked the court to impose the maximum penalty on the defendant. In his final statement, Sultan Sarsemaliyev himself asked the court not to hand down a life sentence.

In delivering its verdict, the court thoroughly explained why it dismissed the defense's claims of self-defense and a state of passion.

The court found Sultan Sarsemaliyev guilty on all charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment, to be served in a maximum-security facility.

"For the totality of the crimes committed, in accordance with Part 4 of Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sultan Sarsemaliyev is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment," announced Judge Zarema Khamidullina when reading the verdict.

The sentence will begin to run from the date the verdict enters into legal force. The time spent in custody since March 8, 2026, will be counted toward the term of imprisonment.

According to the case materials, the victims of the crime were the parents, brother, and sister of the defendant's ex-wife.

The investigation established that all four had been stabbed approximately 60 times in total. After the killings, according to the indictment, Sarsemaliyev stole the victims' personal belongings and took out microloans in their names.

He admitted guilt only partially, claiming that he committed the first killing in necessary self-defense and that he was not aware of his subsequent actions. However, this very version became one of the key points of contention during the trial.

Judge Zarema Khamidullina noted that the defendant's claims were not supported by the evidence examined.

According to her, it is impossible to speak of necessary self-defense when the victim sustained at least ten stab wounds, and the body was concealed after the crime. Nauraz was not discovered until more than ten months later. Due to severe decomposition, experts were only able to confirm ten stab wounds, though according to expert opinions, there could have been significantly more.

Furthermore, all victims suffered fatal wounds to the chest area. In three of the victims, experts found injuries to the hands and forearms, which, according to the court's findings, indicates they attempted to defend themselves.

The court also disagreed with the defense's arguments that the defendant had been in a state of passion.

The results of a comprehensive psychological and psychiatric examination showed that Sultan Sarsemaliyev is sane, does not suffer from any mental disorders, and was not in a state of either physiological or pathological passion at the time of the crimes.

As the judge noted, physiological passion is short-lived in nature, whereas the defendant's actions continued over the course of several months and were accompanied by the concealment of evidence.

In the court's assessment, the murders were caused by a conflict with the ex-wife's relatives, and the crimes themselves were premeditated and committed deliberately.

During the reading of the verdict, the judge specifically addressed the motives behind the crime and the defendant's stance.

"You deliberately killed Nauraz, and then took the lives of the other family members out of fear that the first crime would be uncovered. You killed innocent people," said Zarema Khamidullina.

The court also rejected the defendant's argument that the crimes were committed for the sake of his children.

"A father who truly thinks about his children would never leave them without parents. He would not leave the mother of his children with a severe mental illness, nor would he destroy their future with his own hands," the judge emphasized.

According to her, the children are now in state custody and have been deprived of the most important thing – parental care.

The court also separately assessed the testimony of the defendant's relatives, who attempted to portray the victims in a negative light. The evidence presented did not confirm any of the allegations made.

Commenting on the defendant's mother's statement that her son "had never seen happiness in life," the judge posed a counter-question: "And what kind of life did Nauraz and Meiramgul get to see?"

She reminded the court that both victims had lived with disabilities since childhood, and their lives were cut short tragically.

In addition to the primary punishment, the court partially granted the civil claim of the victims' side. Instead of the requested 70 million tenge, the convicted man was ordered to pay 40 million tenge in compensation for moral damages.

Furthermore, the court obliged him to reimburse the state court fees, transfer 30 MRP (monthly calculation indices) to the Victim Compensation Fund, and cover the costs of the forensic examinations in the amount of 2,512,128 tenge.

It may be recalled that the family's disappearance first came to light in December 2025. Later, the investigation discovered the bodies of all four victims, and the former son-in-law of the family was apprehended in Indonesia.

Linara SAKTAGANOVA
Astana