Despite his calm demeanor in court، 28-year-old Sultan Sarsemaliyev، a resident of Zhangeldino، has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of four people، including his ex-wife's parents and brother، as well as a series of property crimes، reports infohub.kz.
The specialized inter-district criminal court of Atyrau region found Sarsemaliyev guilty under paragraphs 1، 3، 5، 10، and 13 of part 2 of Article 99 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (murder)، as well as large-scale theft، large-scale fraud، livestock theft، and illegal seizure، destruction، or concealment of documents.
For each count، a separate sentence was imposed: 60 hours of community service for document concealment، 3 years in prison for livestock theft، 4 years and 6 months for theft، 4 years and 8 months for fraud، and life imprisonment for the murder of four people. Under part 4 of Article 58 of the Criminal Code، the final sentence is life imprisonment، to be served in a maximum-security penal institution. The term begins from the date the verdict enters into force، with time served since March 8، 2026، credited.
The court also ordered the convict to pay 40 million tenge in moral damages to the victim's side.
The trial lasted several months and involved numerous hearings. The defendant remained calm، occasionally smiling and laughing، but broke down in tears only once when his father appeared. During the proceedings، he disagreed with the charge of intentionally murdering Nauryz Mukangaliyev، claiming he acted in self-defense after a verbal altercation. The court rejected this version. Sarsemaliyev stated that he did not consider the victims innocent and linked the incident to a long-standing conflict with his ex-wife's relatives.
According to case materials، after killing Nauryz، the defendant decided to cover up the crime and murdered his parents. The last victim was Miramgul، who began searching for her relatives. After the murders، Sarsemaliyev took control of the victims' property: he sold livestock، withdrew money from bank cards، took out loans in the names of the deceased totaling around 4 million tenge، and collected their pensions.
After committing the crimes، Sarsemaliyev left Kazakhstan with his ex-wife. They were arrested in Indonesia through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and extradited. The defendant claimed he went abroad to "ask God for forgiveness،" but investigators viewed this as an attempt to flee.
The verdict has not yet entered into force.