The story, which began as a romantic drama, quickly turned into a real horror movie.
For 10 days, the criminals coldly chose a method of murder, joking about Yana's death, and when they found themselves in the dock, they pleaded for mercy.
On November 17, 2025, a tense silence filled the courtroom in Atyrau as the verdict was announced in a case that shocked all of Kazakhstan and neighboring countries. The specialized inter-district court issued an unprecedented decision: 24-year-old Rizuan Khairzhanov and 25-year-old Altynbek Katimov were sentenced to life imprisonment in a high-security facility for the murder of 23-year-old Yana Legkodimova.
This trial, which lasted nearly two months and consisted of 26 volumes of materials, shocked society not only due to the brutality of the crime but also because of the chilling details that emerged during the investigation and court hearings.
The story, which began as a romantic drama, quickly turned into a real horror movie. Yana Legkodimova was a talented master's graduate — she scored 100 out of 100 on her thesis defense. The girl's entire life revolved around her studies. However, in the summer of 2024, she met Rizuan Khairzhanov and fell in love for the first time.
In photographs, Rizuan appears to be a well-mannered and intelligent young man, but as is often the case, appearances proved to be deceiving.
On October 18, 2024, Yana received a message from Khairzhanov: he suggested meeting to talk — the girl agreed. That evening, the criminal drove up to Yana's house. She left her apartment without even taking her jacket — she expected to return quickly. However, no one saw her alive again.
When Yana did not make contact the next day, her mother, Galina Legkodimova, who was on a business trip, urgently returned home. Galina was very close to her daughter, and when she did not answer her calls, she immediately understood that something was wrong. At home, in her daughter's room, she found Yana's diary and immediately guessed who was involved in her disappearance. For Galina, this notebook was an unexpected find. Yana had never kept a personal diary before.
The police were able to quickly locate and detain the suspects. What was revealed during the investigation shocked even experienced operatives. After their arrest, Khairzhanov and Katimov confessed to killing Legkodimova. The motive stemmed from Rizuan's fear that Yana would tell the girl he claimed he was going to marry about their relationship. Altynbek, on the other hand, was completely under his friend's influence — he was ready to fulfill any of his requests. Their relationship is vividly illustrated by the fact that Katimov referred to Khairzhanov as "little pie."
The true horror was caused by the restored correspondence between the murderers, which was read in court. It turned out that for ten days, the criminals coldly planned the murder. During this time, they discussed about 20 different methods of killing. Meanwhile, the friends constantly joked about the girl's impending death and repeated that she deserved it. "Everything must go perfectly," they wrote to each other.
On the night of the murder, Rizuan picked up Yana and drove her to his home. What happened to the girl there remains unknown to this day. But in their correspondence, the murderers discussed how frightened the girl was, apparently hoping that she would not tell anyone now. Later, Khairzhanov took Legkodimova supposedly home, but she never entered the apartment. He strangled the girl in his car while Altynbek held the door to prevent her from escaping. The investigation established that one of the attackers managed to break the girl's wrists, thereby depriving her of the ability to resist. All of this is known to the investigation because Rizuan and Altynbek committed the murder right under surveillance cameras.
When Yana died, the criminals went to the river — there Rizuan undressed and carried the girl's body into the water. After the murder, the killers went to drink beer with whiskey. The next day, the murderers did not talk about the crime they had committed but discussed how badly their hangover was bothering them.
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