A man accused in a Virginia killing who left the United States last month after receiving a 48-hour pass from a state mental health facility had been granted similar unsupervised outings before, including stays at an apartment supported with public funds, according to court documents.
Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda departed the country on July 6 while away on a weekend pass, taking a one-way Turkish Airlines flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Tajikistan, his country of origin, with a connection through Istanbul. Court records say the ticket was booked in Toshpulodzoda’s name and paid for with an American Express card.
Even with the murder case in his history, Toshpulodzoda had been authorized to leave the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, known as NVMHI, for periods of up to 48 hours. During those leaves, records show, he was allowed to stay at an Alexandria apartment provided through the Fairfax Permanent Supportive Housing Program.
The Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Falls Church, Va., where Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda was receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment before he left on an approved 48-hour pass. (Google Maps)
The case traces back to 2019, when authorities say Toshpulodzoda stabbed Mohammad Hemmatian to death inside Hemmatian’s home in Vienna, Virginia. Responding officers later found Toshpulodzoda covered in blood.
In 2022, Toshpulodzoda was found not guilty by reason of insanity on a second-degree murder charge and was committed to a state psychiatric hospital. Laura Birnbaum, chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, told the outlet that such a finding requires an evaluation by a defense expert, followed by a separate independent review for prosecutors.
Birnbaum said that when the prosecution’s expert also concludes a defendant meets the legal standard for insanity, securing a conviction at trial becomes essentially impossible.
Just weeks before Toshpulodzoda left the country, a judge ruled in June that he “shall not be released from custody and inpatient hospitalization without further order of this court.”
However, Virginia state law permits certain patients committed to psychiatric facilities — including those accused of violent crimes — to receive temporary day or weekend passes.
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NVMHI’s Internal Forensic Privileging Committee approved Toshpulodzoda for unaccompanied community visits, allowing him to leave the facility without hospital staff for up to 48 hours at a time. Because this authorization remained in place, he was legally permitted to make unsupervised visits in the period leading up to his escape.
In May 2024, Toshpulodzoda was granted permission to visit the Tajikistan Embassy in Washington, D.C., with an escort to obtain a passport.
News Outlet reached out for comment to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security.
On Aug. 5 — a month after Toshpulodzoda fled the country — the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office asked a judge to issue an arrest warrant.
“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 Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Steve Descano, commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County, Va., speaks at an event at the Center for American Progress about Virginia’s newly elected progressive prosecutors. (Getty Images)
Prosecutors noted that they opposed his release during annual review hearings in June.
The office added that a bench warrant was issued immediately after it had learned he had escaped custody, ensuring that if he reenters the U.S., he will be arrested and extradited to Virginia.
