Scorned lover kidnaps and kills ex-girlfriend's 3-year-old son after she refuses to get back together with him
A man who was enraged that his former girlfriend would not get back together with him allegedly strangled and killed her toddler son as revenge.
The 23-year-old man, Igentai Sopyzhanov, was arrested and charged in the murder of three-year-old Maksim Garifulin, after the toddler's body was uncovered in the village of Burma in central Karaganda, Kazakhstan, three days after Sopyzhanov reportedly kidnapped him.
The incident took place months after he was granted parole for "good behavior," after serving four years out of a nine-year sentence for being convicted of another murder, according to The Sun.
The previous murder charge stemmed from Sopyzhanov killing yet another member of the family — Maksim's great-aunt — because she was responsible for his break up with the three-year-old's mother, Veronika.
Reports stated that Sopyzhanov and Veronika were in a relationship four years ago, but broke up after the latter was persuaded to do so by her aunt, who is said to have disliked the 23-year-old lover.
An angry Sopyzhanov then reportedly grabbed an ax and violently butchered the aunt to death, following which he was sentenced to nine years behind bars. After his release earlier this year, he reportedly tried to renew his relationship with Veronika multiple times but was turned down on each occasion.
The jilted man then decided he would take revenge. According to local media, he approached the mother last week at a local shop where she was buying food and started quarreling with her.
The fight soon escalated and he started physically attacking her, even as other locals watched, before grabbing Maksim from her hands and fleeing the scene.
"His [Sopyzhanov's] step-mother said that he had come home without the boy and left several minutes later without taking his mobile phone with him," a relative of Veronika said.
When Veronika and her relatives failed to track Sopyzhanov and the three-year-old down, they turned to the police, and a massive search operation was launched.
Hundreds of police, soldiers, and locals joined the search and started combing the village and the surrounding area, and after three days, they finally found the toddler's body.
"We found the boy's body on the third day of the search," said police spokesman Meirkhan Ainabekov. "It was hidden under dry branches and grass in a wooded area not far from the village."
Erlan Faizullin, the head of the Karaganda Police Department, revealed that forensics concluded the boy had been strangled and his body has been sent for further examination to determine the exact time and cause of his death.
"We believe he killed Maksim for revenge," a relative said. Sopyzhanov was arrested at the railway station in Karaganda, and allegedly confessed to kidnapping and murdering Maksim. The police said he would be charged with murder and that he will remain in custody pending trial.