The Specialised Inter-District Criminal Court of Atyrau Region found Sultan Sarsemaliyev guilty of the murder of a family of four and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court also ordered the convicted man to pay the victim's side 40 million tenge in compensation for moral damages.
WHAT DECISION DID THE COURT MAKE
The court found Sultan Sarsemaliyev guilty of murdering four people, as well as fraud, theft, cattle rustling, illegal possession of a vehicle, and concealing documents.
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment. The convicted man will serve his term in a high-security penitentiary facility.
Furthermore, the court ordered him to pay the victim's side 40 million tenge in compensation for moral damages.
The convicted man himself stated that he understood the sentence.
HOW THE CASE UNFOLDED
At the end of 2025, four members of one family went missing in the Atyrau Region. At the beginning of 2026, their bodies were discovered in the Kyzylkoga District.
At the end of February 2026, Sultan Sarsemaliyev and his ex-wife, Akbayan Mukangaliyeva, who had been placed on the wanted list, were detained in Indonesia and subsequently extradited to Kazakhstan.
During the trial, Sarsemaliyev stated that the motive for the crime was conflicts with his ex-wife's relatives.
WHAT ELSE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE CASE
The court also found it established that after committing the crimes, Sarsemaliyev sold livestock belonging to the deceased, withdrew money from their bank cards, took out loans in the names of the deceased totalling around 4 million tenge, and received pensions in their names.
The criminal case against Akbayan Mukangali was closed. The case file states that the prosecution could not prove her involvement in concealing the crimes. It was also reported that the woman underwent a psychiatric evaluation.
