‘Targeted assassination’: Denis Ten murder case takes twist as defense asks for new investigation

Defense lawyers for Denis Ten’s family have asked Kazakh prosecutors to conduct an additional investigation into the murder of the figure skating star, insisting there was a third person in the case who was ordered to kill Ten.

Nurlan Ustemirov, a lawyer representing the victim’s interests in court, claims there are contradictory details in the case and insists that the murder was pre-arranged and committed by a professional assassin.

“We are asking the court to hold an additional investigation to determine all those who took part in the crime,” Ustemirov said. “The evidence presented in court is rather contradictory and strongly indicates that this was a targeted assassination.”

“How could Kiyasov [the alleged murderer] have hit Ten? He was behind him. There was a professional killer involved in the action. There is a video showing that somebody was running away from the scene, meaning there was a third participant,” he added.

Ten, a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, was stabbed to death in July after an altercation with two men who were reportedly attempting to steal rear-view mirrors from his car in Almaty.

READ MORE: ‘Three men were fighting, then one of them fell down’ – witness of Denis Ten’s murder

The skater died in hospital after losing three liters of blood from the stab wound. Soon after the tragedy Kazakh police detained two men on suspicion of killing the athlete, both of whom admitted their involvement in the incident.

The suspects, who were identified as Nuraly Kiyasov, 24, and Arman Kudaibergenov, 23, said they didn’t recognize the renowned skater and had no intention to kill him.

Ten was the first Kazakh figure skater to claim bronze at the Olympic Games, and was also a two-time World Championship medalist and a five-time national champion.