Chilling details of a brutal murder have emerged during the trial of former Kazakhstan minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev for the killing of his wife Saltanat Nukenova.
Parts of the torture 31-year-old Saltanat Nukenova underwent on November 9, 2023, were caught on CCTV camera of a restaurant, owned by Bishimbayev's family.
During the murder trial, which was live-streamed on social media, the court was shown an eight-hour-long footage of the torture that she underwent before the murder, including kicking and punching.
She was then dragged to a room where there was no camera surveillance. The prosecutor claimed that when she tried to escape the assault by hiding in the bathroom, he "broke down the door, pulled her out, and continued beating her." “He grabbed her by the throat after dragging her out of the toilet. This is when she lost consciousness."
Bishimbayev did not bother to call an ambulance despite realizing that she was grievously injured, instead opted to call a fortune-teller who told him that she would be fine. The medical staff declared her dead at the scene after the ambulance arrived at the scene 12 hours later.
She had multiple bruises on her face, head, arms, and hands and died due to brain trauma, according to the coroner's report.
During his trial, Bishimbayev admitted to killing her, but claimed that he did not act “with exceptional cruelty” with which he had been charged. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
