The series of murders in Konibodom was carried out with the intention of robbery and appropriation of property, the Prosecutor-General of Tajikistan, Habibullo Vohidzoda, stated during a news conference in Dushanbe on August 8. According to Vohidzoda, this was confirmed during the investigation.
"This was a series of murders. Members of five families, 15 people in total, including five minors, were killed. Four individuals—Solehjon Khudoyberdiyev, Ahadjon Tukhtayev, Bakhtiyor Ravshanov, and Marat Sattorov—were sentenced to life imprisonment for these crimes," Vohidzoda said.
Earlier, another name, Manouchehr Odilov, had been mentioned as a participant in the murders. However, during the news conference, it was clarified that his involvement in the killings had not been proven.
"According to the investigation, Odilov did not participate in the murders, but he committed other crimes, including accusations of rape, for which he was sentenced to 25 years in prison," the Prosecutor-General added.
Chronology of the Murders
The series of murders in Konibodom and surrounding areas began with a crime committed on the night of March 28-29, 2024. During that night, five members of one family were found dead on Komil Yormatov Street in Konibodom: a 65-year-old Muhiddin Sharifov, his wife Mariyam Sharifova, daughter-in-law Firouza Sharifova, and two grandsons—Abubakr Sharifov and Aziz Kabirzoda.
Initially, authorities named Muhiddin Sharifov as a suspect, but later these claims were refuted. Muhiddin's son, Kabir Sharifov, told Asia-Plus that his father had been recognized as a victim, and the true killers had not yet been found.
On the night of April 16-17, in the village of Sayhoun, which is subordinate to Konibodom, the bodies of the 70-year-old Muzaffar Urmonov and his wife Inoyat Urmonova were discovered. Twenty-one days after the crime, authorities arrested Sharifjon Ashourov, Muzaffar's brother, on suspicion of murder. Despite the denials of his relatives and children, who stated that Ashourov had not left the house on the night of the murders, he was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison on December 12.
On the night of May 28-29, in the village of Sanjidzor, six members of two families—one Tajik and one Kyrgyz—were found murdered. The authorities accused the 42-year-old school guard Marat Sattorov of committing these murders. In late November, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The next murder occurred on the night of December 8-9 in the village of Shurobqala, which is subordinate to Konibodom, where six members of one family were found dead: the husband, Naimjon Nematov (37), his wife Nafisa Nematova (33), and their four children (aged 13, 10, 10, and 2). Naimjon was found hanging from a tree, and the rest of the family had signs of strangulation.
A week later, on the night of December 15-16, four more people from two families were murdered in the village of Hisorak (formerly Qurgoncha).
In total, 23 people from seven families were mysteriously killed in Konibodom over 10 months. The appearance of videos showing masked individuals only fueled panic, leading residents to light bonfires and patrol the streets at night.
