On May 26, 2022, Khuraman Hasanova, born in 1961, was murdered in the Garadagh district of Baku and the house where she lived was burned down. In response to the information, police officers and the prosecutor’s office went to the scene.
It turned out that the incident took place on Yunis Mirzayev Street, house 4, apartment 14. The deceased Khuraman Hasanova was a primary school teacher at secondary school No. 139.
A criminal case has been opened in connection with the incident at the Garadagh District Prosecution Service under Section 120.1 (intentional homicide) of the Criminal Code.
As a result of the operation and search measures, Orkhan Novruzov, born in 1985, was detained as a suspect on 27 May.
Lent.az has obtained the investigative materials of the murder case.
The investigation established that on May 25, at around 21:00, Orkhan Novruzov asked his son-in-law Shahin Allahverdiyev to drive him to Khuraman Hasanova’s address, without telling him which house he should go to. In front of building number 4 on Orkhan Yunis Mirzayev Street, Shahina told him to wait and went up to the third floor. After entering the house, she wounded the woman with a knife she took from the kitchen. Khuraman strangled Hasanova, who fell face down due to the blows. After seeing the woman dead, he looted from her and her house 3 gold necklaces, 2 pairs of gold earrings, 1 gold bracelet, 2 gold rings and other valuables worth 8100 AZN. Later, to hide the traces of the crime, he burned the clothes in the room and ran away from the house. Orkhan Novruzov caused a total of 19,000 manats of damage to the apartment by setting fire to it, as well as 8,880 manats of damage to Murad Muradov, who lives next door, due to the total burning of the floor of that house.
Orkhan Novruzov, questioned about the case, said that in 2009 he started a family with Bakhtiniso Sayfiddinnova and two children were born from their marriage. He worked at a market in the settlement of Lokbatan. Khuraman often went to that shop and made purchases for the teacher:
“From that moment on, we got to know each other. After a while, my son Khuraman was accepted into the teacher’s class. In January 2022, we went to Russia for my wife’s treatment. While I was there, I was in contact with Khuraman Hasanova via the WhatsApp application. On the morning of May 25, I went to Baku and returned.
My sister’s husband, Shahin Allahverdiyev, arrived at the airport in his personal Daewoo Nexia and met us. That evening I asked Sahin to take me to the five-story building where Master Khuraman lives. I did not tell Sahin who I was going to see or for what purpose. When I got out of the car I told my relative that I would be there in 20 minutes. I entered the second block, went up to the third floor and knocked on the door of the house on the left for about 10 minutes. After the woman opened the door, I followed her down the hallway and then into the living room.
He said he went to the kitchen under the pretext of drinking water and returned to the woman with a household knife:
“Khuraman Hasanova cursed me and demanded that I leave and came towards me. When he pulled out the knife and struck, he raised his left arm forward and, if I’m not mistaken, the cutting tool sank into his arm. I don’t remember what other part of the woman the knife hit. Then I threw the knife onto the clothes. She was face down on the ground. I grabbed Khuraman by the shoulder and pushed him hard, seeing that he was not making any sound. I killed him because I was practicing judo.
After killing Khuraman Hasanova, I decided to burn down the house. I set fire to the clothes the woman was preparing for ironing with a lighter. The clothes I burned were about one and a half meters away from the corpse. When I was about to leave the house, my eyes caught the woman’s phone. I took it and threw it among the burning clothes so that it would burn and perish. When I left the house and went downstairs, I heard the woman who lives in the apartment opposite Khuraman Hasanova say, “Why are you making noise?” I ran to the yard and sat in my aunt’s car. I told her, “Turn right in front and park near the trash, I’ll look out the window.” When Sahin asked me why I was looking out the window, I told him, “I knocked on the door and she didn’t open it. I’m looking to see if she’s home or not.” When I looked out from inside the car, I saw that the apartment was not on fire yet. Then we went to the gas station and then home. Of course, I didn’t tell anyone about the incident I did.”
O. Novruzov noted that the next day he, his wife and children went to their home in the settlement of Mehdiabad.
“A day later, Sahin contacted me and said, ‘Something has happened in the city, maybe the police are looking for a Nexia car. ’ “We left, but the incident happened in the morning, don’t worry,” I told him. Before that, I heard that Khuraman Hasanova’s house was burned down by my brother Aflatun. My brother, in turn, was informed by his friend Aydin, who lives in the same building, that teacher Khuraman’s house was blown up with gas and he was locked up. In intensive care that day I was detained at home by officers of the Garadagh District Police Department. I confessed to the crime I committed in the apartment.”
Nushaba Novruzova, the victim’s legal heir, stated in her testimony that the deceased Khuraman Hasanova was her mother. She lived in the Lokbatan settlement:
“We knew Orkhan Novruzov for about 3 years, he used to come and go to our family home. Orkhan’s children studied in my mother’s class. On May 18, 2022, my father and mother came to Tukiya for my wedding. After a week, they returned to Baku on May 25. At about 20:00, my brother called me on the morning of the month and told me that my mother had been killed by Orkhan Novruzov. She had 1 gold bracelet, 2 gold rings and 1 pair of gold earrings in her ears and a pair in her bag. As a result of the fire, most of the things in the house were destroyed, and those that were not burned were left in a useless state.
The victim, Murad Muradov, stated in his testimony that he lives with his parents on Yunis Mirzayev Street, house 4, apartment 12:
“My neighbor Khuraman Hasanova worked as a teacher at secondary school No. 139 located in the Lokbatan settlement. Khuraman was a sincere and kind person to the teacher. On May 26, one of the neighbors living in the building called my mother and informed her that Khuraman Hasanova’s house was on fire. When she came home around 10, the fire had already been extinguished. I saw that our apartment was badly damaged. Later I learned that my neighbor was killed by an acquaintance named Orkhan. “The house was set on fire.”
Shahin Allahverdiyev, questioned as a witness, said he knew that his brother-in-law Orkhan Novruzov had a close family relationship with Professor Khuraman and that they went on holiday together.
“A few months before the incident, Orkhan had traveled to Russia due to his wife’s illness. On May 25, at around 4 a.m., I went to the airport to meet Orkhan, his wife Nisen and their children, who had returned from Russia, and took them to the house in the first block of the Lokbatan settlement, where I live. That evening, Orkhan asked me to take him to an address in the settlement.
After half an hour, my brother-in-law returned. The next morning I took Orkhan and his family to Mehdiabad. In the afternoon, the policeman called me and asked me the make and colour of my car. I was then invited to the unit. Orkhan did not give me any information about why he went to that house.
Shahid Abbas Novruzov said that in 2010 he divorced his wife Khuraman Hasanova in court:
“On May 26, 2022, at around 6 am, one of my former neighbors called me and informed me that there was a fire in the apartment where my ex-wife lived. When I arrived, the fire had already been extinguished. The next day I found out that Khuraman was killed by Orkhan Novruzov.”
At the court hearing, Orkhan Novruzov pleaded not guilty to the charge and stated in his testimony that he went to Khuraman Hasanova’s house on the day of the incident, but then left after saying goodbye and went to the Mehdiabad settlement with his relatives the next day. He was called to the police station that day. Orkhan did not confirm his statement during the investigation in court. He said that he did not take the victim’s gold and did not set the house on fire. Due to contradictions between their statements, the statement given by the accused at the preliminary investigation was made public in court.
The victim’s legal heir has asked for severe punishment to be imposed on the accused.
The court concluded that Orkhan Novruzov was charged with 120.2.2 of the Criminal Code (intentional murder with hooliganism), 177.2.4 (theft when committed causing considerable damage) and 186.2.2 (deliberate destruction of property, serious when causing consequences) and it has been fully proven that he has committed criminal acts under the articles.
According to the verdict of the Baku Court of Serious Crimes, Orkhan Novruzov was sentenced to 18 years of strict imprisonment.
