In the Aktay court #2 on March 5th, a verdict was reached in the case of the murder of the young athlete Valeriya Shalnova. The defendant was charged with three articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: murder coupled with violent acts of a sexual nature, violent actions of a sexual nature using violence against the victim, and robbery.
The verdict was 22 years of imprisonment in a maximum security facility. The victim's lawyer mentioned that the defendant remained calm during the verdict announcement and did not admit guilt until the end. The lawyer also stated that the verdict has not yet come into force, so an appeal is likely.
Valeriya Shalnova's mother fully agrees with the verdict and expressed gratitude to all Kazakhstani citizens who supported them throughout the eight months of waiting for the verdict. She mentioned that the criminal insulted their family and daughter by denying his guilt from the beginning of the investigation until the court hearing.
Currently, the investigation is ongoing regarding the employees who delayed the investigation and examinations. This part of the case has been separated into a separate criminal proceeding. The body of the 21-year-old athlete Valeriya Shalnova was found in a water intake canal in Aktay in June last year. The criminal case was initially opened for "driving to suicide," then reclassified to "endangerment," and later to "murder."
