A Virginia man who was acquitted by reason of insanity in a 2019 killing left the country on a one-way trip to Tajikistan while away from a state psychiatric facility on an approved 48-hour pass, court records show.
Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda was released from the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute (NVMHI) on July 6 under an authorized two-day pass and was supposed to return on July 8. He did not come back, FOX 5 reported, citing court filings.
According to the documents, Toshpulodzoda instead went to Washington Dulles International Airport, boarded a Turkish Airlines flight bound for Istanbul and then continued on to Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
“The Acquittee failed to return to NVMHI on July 8, 2026, as required,” the court filing says.
The Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Falls Church, Virginia, where Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda had been receiving inpatient treatment before leaving on an authorized 48-hour pass. (Google Maps)
Toshpulodzoda had been placed in the custody of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in 2022 after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of his landlord, Mohammad Hemmatian, FOX 5 reported.
His departure from the mental health facility came only days after a judge ruled that he remained mentally ill and still required inpatient psychiatric treatment.
“On June 29, 2026, this Court found that the Acquittee remained mentally ill and in need of inpatient hospitalization,” the court documents state.
Despite that finding, Virginia law allows mental health facilities to grant certain committed patients unaccompanied community visits lasting up to 48 hours, according to FOX 5.
NVMHI authorized Toshpulodzoda to leave on July 6. Court records show he left the approved placement and headed to Dulles instead of returning to the facility.
Washington Dulles International Airport on May 22, 2026, in Dulles, Virginia. Toshpulodzoda traveled to Washington Dulles International Airport and boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul before continuing to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Airline records attached to the court filing show a Turkish Airlines itinerary from Dulles to Istanbul and then to Dushanbe.
FOX 5 reported that Toshpulodzoda had previously been allowed to travel to Washington, D.C., in 2024 to obtain a passport, with support from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
After Toshpulodzoda failed to return, NVMHI placed him on escape status, revoked his pass and issued a facility warrant.
Virginia State Police and federal authorities were notified, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued an alert in case he attempted to return to the United States.
A bench warrant was later issued for his arrest, according to FOX 5.
A Turkish Airlines flight lands at Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 17, 2024. Airline records attached to the court filing show a Turkish Airlines itinerary from Dulles to Istanbul and then to Dushanbe. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda was found by clinicians to be insane at the time he killed Mohammad Hemmatian – a legal finding that means the Commonwealth would be unable to secure a conviction at trial,” the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s office said in a statement.
“Following that 2022 finding, prosecutors have opposed his release at annual review hearings, including in June of this year, where a judge ordered that he continue to be confined in a state behavioral health facility. A bench warrant was issued immediately following notice that he had escaped custody, so if he enters the U.S., he will be arrested and brought to Virginia.”
The Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s office, the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute and Turkish Airlines could not immediately be reached by News Outlet for comment.
