Pavlodar Court Sentences Three Men in Contract Killing Case

Three men have been convicted in Pavlodar for attempting to kill a local woman — a plot organized by her ex-husband, Orda.kz's correspondent in Pavlodar reports.

The victim, Olga Gorkunova, survived the attack and attended court to hear the verdict in person.

The court found an Azerbaijani citizen guilty of orchestrating the attempted contract killing. Gorkunova, who had been married to him for 15 years and had three children with him, divorced in 2023.

Following the divorce, she received most of the couple’s property, while custody of the children remained with their father. Investigators believe concerns over potentially losing custody and Gorkunova’s increasing financial independence were motives behind the crime.

Initially, the ex-husband reportedly hired an intermediary to follow and gather compromising information about his former wife. That plan later escalated.

At first, the goal was to injure Gorkunova so that she couldn’t work and would be more likely to return to him. However, when she entered a new relationship, he allegedly offered three million tenge to accomplices to kill her.

On June 18, 2024, Gorkunova was attacked in the street. She sustained stab wounds to her chest, face, and hands, but survived.

Alongside the ex-husband, both the intermediary and the attacker stood trial. All three denied guilt. The attacker claimed he intended only to rob her and had allegedly found the knife by chance.

Judge Nurlan Kairbekov delivered the verdict:

The defendants must also pay eight million tenge in compensation to the victim.

In court, Gorkunova addressed the men:

I survived after three healthy men decided to get rid of a woman. They looked for dirt, pitfalls in my biography. You are not gods, it is not for you to decide whether I live or not, to discuss my upbringing and how I take care of my children! You can't just take and do away with, just because you wanted to. 

The verdict has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed.

Original Author: Alina Adilova