The main part of the trial in the case of the murder of Nurai Serikbai has concluded, and the parties have moved to closing arguments. State prosecutor Madiyar Abilkasymov demanded that 28-year-old Sherkhan Aymakhanov be sentenced to life imprisonment, reports infohub.kz.
The prosecutor stated that the defendant's guilt has been fully proven under three articles of the Criminal Code: paragraph 5 of part 2 of Article 99 (murder with extreme cruelty), part 1 of Article 125 (forcing into marriage), and part 2 of Article 115 (stalking).
"I ask for a sentence of life imprisonment. I ask that the sentence be served in a maximum-security correctional facility. I ask that the term of imprisonment be counted from the day the verdict is announced. I ask that the preventive measure against Aymakhanov, namely detention, remain unchanged," the publication quotes the prosecutor as saying.
As previously reported, Nurai Serikbai died on January 11. The investigation lasted seven months and concluded in July, with the trial starting on July 21. Earlier, Aymakhanov claimed he did not remember the moment of the stabbing and even stated that the girl had struck him first. However, a forensic medical expert reported that the victim had been stabbed 35 times and was still alive at the time. A psychological examination showed that Aymakhanov was fully in control of his actions during the crime.
The death of the 21-year-old woman caused widespread public outcry and once again drew attention to the issues of stalking and bride kidnapping.