Another hearing in the case of Nuray Serikbay took place with the participation of the defendant and the parents of the deceased. While the accused insists that he had no intent to kill, the victims' side maintains that the crime was preceded by stalking, threats, and attempts to coerce the girl into marriage.

The specialized inter-district criminal court of Shymkent continues to hear one of the most high-profile criminal cases of recent months – the murder of 21-year-old Nuray Serikbay.

Sherkhan Aymakhan is charged with murder committed with particular cruelty, kidnapping, threats of murder or infliction of grievous bodily harm, as well as coercion into marriage. According to the prosecution, the tragedy was preceded by the abduction of the girl, an attempt to pressure her into marriage, and subsequent prolonged stalking.

Speaking in court, the defendant did not fully admit guilt on the charges brought against him. He stated that the tragedy occurred after a conflict during their last meeting.

"When I said that we were breaking up, she got angry and threw away the ring. I got angry too. Nuray stabbed me with a knife. I was in a state of affect. What happened next, I do not remember," Sherkhan Aymakhan stated.

According to the defendant, the knives were in the glove compartment of his car, and he allegedly put one of them in his pocket, intending to return the ring to the girl, without attaching any significance to it.

"When she was angry, I told her: 'Then you'd better stab me with a knife.' When she stabbed me in the right side, I stepped back. What happened next, I do not remember," the accused repeated.

Answering the court's questions about his actions following the incident, Sherkhan Aymakhan again cited memory loss.

"I was losing blood and didn't understand what was happening. The next day I woke up in the steppe. I walked to the road and stopped a car. It was then that I realized what had happened," he said.

The defendant also claimed that several years ago he suffered a head injury, after which he has experienced problems with memory and his mental state. However, according to case files, a forensic psychiatric examination found him sane and capable of understanding the nature of his actions.

During the hearing, the defendant asked for forgiveness from the relatives of the deceased and from his own family members, stating that he had not anticipated such an outcome.

At the same time, the prosecution insists on premeditated intent. According to the indictment, after the first stab wounds, the defendant attempted to flee the scene, but then returned to the victim and continued delivering blows.

"After a witness appeared, he wanted to flee and escape the crime scene. But, changing his mind, he came back and inflicted about 30 more stab wounds all over her body. She was unrecognizable," said the victims' attorney, Ayanhan Omarov.

According to the investigation, Nuray Serikbay received a total of 35 stab wounds. Furthermore, the prosecution alleges that shortly before the tragedy, the defendant systematically stalked the girl, repeatedly waited for her near her home, and made 76 attempts to call her in a single day.

A significant part of the court proceedings was devoted to the testimony of the deceased's parents.

The girl's father, Bauyrzhan Sagymbek, recounted that he learned of the incident after a phone conversation with his daughter.

"Dad, something is happening here that I don't want. Come get me," he quoted Nuray's last words, spoken shortly before the tragedy.

According to the victim's father, his daughter had previously been the victim of an abduction for the purpose of forced marriage. The parents took her home after she stated her refusal to marry.

In court, the father also refuted the defendant's claims about the voluntary nature of these events.

"According to Nuray, he repeatedly insulted and intimidated her. He is 28 years old, a grown man with no shame. My daughter was only 20 years old," Bauyrzhan Sagymbek stated.

The deceased's mother, Aigul Sagimbekova, told the court that after the abduction, police officers, according to her, attempted to persuade her daughter to withdraw her statement.

"Do you want this guy to be sentenced to 15–20 years in prison? Are you ready to take such a sin upon your soul?" – according to the victims' side, these are the words that police officers addressed to Nuray.

Particular attention in the proceedings has been given to the circumstances surrounding the stalking of the girl. The parents stated that after she refused to marry him, the defendant continued to seek contact with Nuray – he followed her, wrote to her acquaintances, and after she changed her phone number, he transferred money to her bank account in order to obtain her new number. According to the family, all the transferred funds were returned to the defendant's relatives and subsequently donated to charity.

Linarа SAKTAGANOVA
Astana