In court, the accused in the murder of 21-year-old Nurai Serikbay, Sherkhan Aimakhan, claimed that the girl attacked him first, reports infohub.kz.
The main trial began at the Specialized Interdistrict Criminal Court of Shymkent. During the hearing, 28-year-old Aimakhan was questioned. He said he met Nurai on June 14, 2025, at a betashar. According to the defendant, in the fall, the girl voluntarily agreed to marry him, which she confirmed in writing.
Aimakhan denies the stalking accusations. He claims that the hundreds of calls in the case file are a technical error or the result of an auto-dial function. The accused stated he did not make that many calls himself.
Describing the day of the tragedy, Aimakhan said he himself wanted to break up with Nurai and return the ring. He explained that before the meeting, he accidentally put two knives from the car's glove compartment into his hoodie pocket and forgot about them.
"When Nurai arrived, I told her we were breaking up and that was it. She threw the ring onto the street, hit me in the chest, and started saying offensive words. At that moment, I felt the knife in my pocket and took it out. I offered the knife to Nurai and said, 'Take the knife and just stab me with it.' Then she took it and stabbed me on the right side. After that, I don't remember anything—I was in a state of passion," the accused reported.
He claims he does not remember the moment of the stabbing. Aimakhan attributes the memory lapses to a mental disorder following a head injury sustained at a pool in 2019.
During questioning by the victims' legal representatives, the defendant could not clarify the details of the murder or his escape. Aimakhan claims he lost consciousness immediately after Nurai allegedly wounded him. He regained consciousness outside the city. Finding cuts on himself and two knives in his pockets, he says he caught a ride to the nearest police station, where he first heard of Nurai's death.
During the interrogation, the defendant categorically denied intent to kill and said he loved Nurai very much. He asked forgiveness from the victim's family, his own family, and the people of Kazakhstan, again explaining the incident as a consequence of his illness and lack of timely treatment.
Recall that the crime was captured on video on the evening of January 11 in Shymkent at a pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Tolemetov and Utegenov streets. The footage shows the girl trying to run away, then resisting, and the young man beating her and stabbing her. He then flees.
Police opened a criminal case on murder. A male acquaintance of the victim became a suspect. Later, the suspect was detained in an open area 10 km from Shymkent. According to Nurai Serikbay's relatives, he was a stalker.
In April, the suspect was sent to a specialized facility. An examination found the man sane, and at the end of May, he was transferred from a medical center in Talgar back to Shymkent.