The appellate court hearing regarding the mysterious death of Liza Pylaeva took place in Almaty, as reported by Tengrinews.kz.
The session of the appellate panel was held on February 13 and 20, at the request of the prosecution, which disagreed with the acquittal verdict issued by the first-instance court for the three defendants - Shmakova, Ryzhakova, and Mahmudov.
The defense pointed out in its statements that the guilt of the defendants was not proven even indirectly for any of the accusations. The lawyers also reminded about the discrepancies in the conclusions of forensic experts, which, according to them, also cast doubt on the version of the prosecution. Based on this, the defense requested that the verdict of the first-instance court remain unchanged, and the prosecution's motion be denied.
After considering the arguments of both sides, the appellate panel decided to leave the verdict of the first-instance court regarding Olga Shmakova, Leonard Ryzhakova, and Uktam Mahmudov unchanged.
"We thoroughly examined the arguments from all sides. The fact that the child died an unnatural death is a confirmed fact, but over four years of investigation, the true cause could not be established either during the investigation or in court. The prosecutor's claims regarding bodily injuries, according to the expert's conclusion, are unfounded, as six expert examinations were conducted in this case, and their findings contradict each other. The conclusions of the examinations even differ on the time of death and the mechanism of the injuries. One expert determined that the victim's death resulted from being hit by a car at low speed, while an independent examination conducted by a bureau in Kyiv established that death occurred as a result of her falling during a possible braking from the car's passenger seat, and the majority of the bodily injuries were caused by dog bites. Most importantly, the prosecution failed to indisputably prove that the defendants were involved in the child's death. The prosecution's reference to an investigative experiment conducted during the pre-trial investigation regarding the marks of the car's grille on the victim's body was refuted in the court session. It was impossible to obtain the stated bodily injuries under the presented conditions during the experiment. The prosecution even failed to prove whether it was a murder or an accident. The child's death is undoubtedly a tragedy. However, guilt must be established only by indisputable evidence. Such evidence was not presented to the court. In fact, the entire prosecution is built on assumptions. There is no direct evidence of the defendants' guilt in causing the victim's death. According to the law, all doubts are interpreted in favor of the defendants. Regarding the facts of knowingly false testimony, to establish that the defendants provided knowingly false testimony, it is necessary to determine the real circumstances of the case. However, neither the investigator nor the prosecutor did this. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to determine the falsity of the testimony. Accordingly, the court legally and justifiably acquitted the defendants Shmakova, Ryzhakova, and Mahmudov," the appellate panel explained the verdict.
Recall that on May 12, 2019, six-year-old Liza Pylaeva was found dead in the yard of the house where her mother lived. Her body, covered with wounds, was located under a statue.
The girl's father, Alexander Pylaev, accused Liza's aunt, Olga Shmakova, of her murder. According to him, she hit the child with her car and then went to the mall, while other family members, including the girl's biological mother, allegedly helped conceal the murder.
However, Liza's mother, Marina Ryzhakova, and the entire family insisted that the girl died as a result of an accident caused by the statue falling on her.
Liza's grandmother, Leonarda Ryzhakova, was charged with "Knowingly false testimony" and "Concealment of a crime." The family's gardener, Ukram Mahmudov, was also accused of concealing a crime and giving false testimony.
The investigation into Liza Pylaeva's case lasted about five years. The court examined the case for six months. During the hearings, dozens of witnesses, as well as forensic experts and involved specialists, provided testimony, which varied in nature and were not conclusive.
Some experts considered the possibility of a traffic accident, which was thought to be the cause of the child's death. Other experts ruled out a car accident or collision. The version of an accident due to the statue falling also did not receive conclusive confirmation. Experts only agreed on one point: the girl died as a result of spinal shock caused by a broken spine and spinal cord swelling.
Ultimately, after reviewing all the case materials, the court found no evidence of guilt from any of the accused and issued an acquittal for all three, returning the case for further investigation.
