Images showing the final moments of the life of a 31-year-old astrologer who died at the hands of her husband were presented in court in Kazakhstan, the Daily Mail reports.
In the video, the man, a former economic minister of an Asian country, drags his wife by the hair, kicks and beats her. Saltanat Nukenova will die from a head injury. The crime occurred in November last year.
The “trial of the century,” as the local press dubbed it, is shocking Kazakhstan. Media coverage of the case prompted thousands of people to sign petitions asking for tougher sentences for domestic violence.
Kuandyk Bishimbayev faces 20 years in prison if his guilt is proven. He initially told the court the woman died from self-inflicted injuries.
However, CCTV images contradicted the former ruler’s testimony. However, last Wednesday the suspect confessed to the attack.
In one of the videos, a couple is quarreling outside a restaurant owned by a family member of the former minister.
Bishimbayev can be seen aggressively attacking the woman and knocking her to the ground by her hair. After this he kicks his partner several times.
When the victim tried to get up, the suspect grabbed her by the neck and kicked her in the jaw. The attacks continued beyond the reach of the cameras.
The restaurant’s video surveillance system was also able to record the violence of the clashes. The woman is seen crawling away from her attacker.
“Having pulled her out of the bathroom, Bishimbayev grabbed her by the neck and strangled her. She lost consciousness,” says the prosecutor.
The next day the woman was found dead with a head injury.
After beating his wife, the former minister re-entered the restaurant and calmly sat down to eat. Bishimbayev admitted in court that he called a “psychic” friend.
In March it was reported that the murder occurred because Nukenova, the politician’s third wife, threatened to leave her husband. The husband’s attacks will be repeated, as evidenced by photographs left by the victim’s defense in court, which show the woman covered in bruises.
At the first trial, the defendant claimed that his wife died after hitting her head on the sink.
The case was seen as a test of the independence of Kazakhstan’s judiciary from the political system. Many fear that the man will not be charged with corruption, as was the case in the previous trial.