Brother recounts killing of pregnant ex-judge Aigul Sailybayeva

Early June 2024. The mother of 40-year-old Aigul Sailybayeva hears her daughter«s voice for the last time. After a while, she stops responding to both messages and calls. In response, only silence and the long beeps of the phone.

The family tries to find out something about what happened from her husband—Alexander Dontsov—and mother-in-law—Natalia Dontsova. But the relatives just brush them off and say they don«t know anything: “She just left home and probably went off somewhere.”

Almost two weeks after the disappearance, Aigul«s mutilated body is found in a lake on the outskirts of a German town. After the autopsy, it becomes clear that the deceased was almost seven months pregnant. And the main suspects turn out to be Sailybayeva»s husband and mother-in-law. The brother of the ex-judge told MSK1.RU how his sister was killed.

“No one was looking for her before I arrived”

In 2019, Aigul married 29-year-old Alexander Dontsov—a lawyer originally from Taldykorgan. She met her future husband while studying in England. The couple lived in Russia and the USA, where Alexander won a green card. Later, he worked at the mortgage corporation AD Mortgage there. In 2021, the couple moved to Germany, where their daughter was born.

Aigul stopped making contact on 4 July 2024. The girl«s brother filed a missing person report through the consulate. And a couple of days later, he flew to Germany to search for her. At the same time, Aigul»s mother-in-law—Natalia Dontsova—allegedly went to look for her and also mysteriously disappeared. Later, the parents found out that the mother-in-law left the country on the night of 4 to 5 June—her son called a taxi to the airport for her.

“The story was that they allegedly had a quarrel with Alexander and Aigul left,” Zhanat Sailybayev said in a conversation with MSK1.RU. “But how could she leave her three-year-old daughter almost alone? And our parents as if felt something. And all this time Alexander did nothing, didn«t even file a police report. Around the 12th, I flew there and went to the police station. And I understand that no one was looking for her before I arrived. According to the German police, she is an adult who can go anywhere herself.”

On the 16th, Aigul Sailybayeva«s brother organized a search, joined by volunteers and neighbors. The girl»s mutilated body was found in a quarry near the lake. She was wrapped in a garbage bag, which lay under her own suitcase, hidden in the bushes. Aigul was killed with particular cruelty: first she was hit on the head, and then cut with a knife.

“There, only a mole was visible. There«s no face on the body”

According to Zhanat, as the examination showed, the girl«s body was dumped at this place two hours before its discovery. Aigul had been dead for two weeks.

“At first we didn«t pay attention, because we thought a male body was found,” recalled the brother of the deceased. “Because it had been lying in water—it was swollen and seemed too large for a woman. Closer to evening, we realized it wasn»t a man, but a woman. And it«s our sister. The next day, police come to take a DNA sample from me.”

After Aigul«s body was found, investigators in Germany opened a criminal case. The main suspect became the victim»s mother-in-law. While the investigation was ongoing, the Dontsovs moved to Natalia«s brother, so Zhanat couldn»t talk to his sister«s husband and ask him how and why this happened.

Meanwhile, searches were conducted at the Dontsovs« house: the apartment was clean—someone had washed the floors. But this didn»t help remove all traces of blood. And there were, as it turned out, very many.

“There was a lot of blood. Both Natalia«s and my sister»s. Traces of blood were in the bathroom, in the basement, in the car, and in the kitchen. And two murder weapons were found—a blunt object and a knife. The investigators handled the case as if it were the first murder in their city and they didn«t know what to do. In the end, they determined that only Natalia was guilty. And somehow she stored the body in Germany while being in Russia,” said the brother.

“It was a slave-like attitude”

According to Aigul«s brother, it later became known that his sister had been abused for a long time—domestic violence reigned in the family.

“There are testimonies from her friends with whom she shared. Violence both moral and physical,” shared Zhanat. “All this comes from the last years of her life. When they lived in the USA, they already slept separately—the conflict escalated. His mother was constantly nearby. Then we found out that my sister had no opportunity to go anywhere. Alexander kept their daughter«s passport at his uncle»s house, and all documents were stored far from her. It was a slave-like attitude. The benefits she received, he transferred to his account.”

Until December 2024, investigators in Germany conducted investigative measures, so her relatives could only find out how exactly Aigul was killed in May 2025, when Zhanat received the case materials. Then they also learned that via GPS, Alexander«s phone was found near the place where Aigul»s body was discovered. But the husband denied any involvement in the crime.

“From the case materials, we learn that Natalia Dontsova is not being sought. She is in Russia. According to them, we allegedly threatened them, and that«s why she ran away. And they wanted to portray Aigul as strange. They said that recently she had been behaving unusually, could just leave, allegedly practiced Islam. In our family, that»s not done at all. On the iPad, my sister allegedly kept some diary,” explained Zhanat Sailybayev.

“You can stab a corpse and go unpunished”

According to the brother, he came to Germany alone, and his goal was one—to find his sister, and if not, to bring back to the homeland at least what remains. Natalia Dontsova«s mother assured the Sailybayeva family that she would stay in touch. But almost two months after the tragedy, Alexander Dontsov obtained citizenship for his daughter and moved to Russia. Then they broke off all contact with the victim»s family. And all this time, Aigul«s loved ones haven»t seen her daughter.

In autumn 2024, the Moscow Ministry of Internal Affairs published a press release stating that in September, the father of a German citizen applied to the Moscow police with a request to grant the child Russian citizenship.

The girl was born in 2021 in the city of Leipzig and received German citizenship by birth. In the summer of this year, her mother died suddenly. And Dontsov is a Russian citizen.

“Alexander Dontsov remained alone with a minor child in a country alien in spirit and values, and therefore decided to return to Russia for further residence and upbringing of his child in traditional values,” the message said.

“They became out of reach. And he was just a passerby. The whole family. Completely. Before that, they accuse us of slandering and defaming them all over the internet. And they are not involved in the murder. So, she killed herself, got into a bag, and jumped into the lake? In German legislation, there are many interesting and strange things,” said Zhanat. “It turns out you can help your mother hide a corpse, that you can dump it somewhere, that you can stab it. And end up unpunished.”

Natalia Dontsova, the mother-in-law of Aigul Sailybayeva who died in Germany, is declared internationally wanted on suspicion of murder. German police issued a warrant for her search in Germany and the European Union. In addition, Natalia and Alexander Dontsov have been declared wanted by Kazakh law enforcement.

The investigation of the case is complicated not only by the political situation but also by the slowness of law enforcement, says the brother of the deceased. The crime was committed in Germany, the victim was a citizen of Kazakhstan, but a criminal case has not yet been opened in Russia. According to Zhanat, investigators summoned Natalia and Alexander for questioning at a station in Moscow in December 2025. But after the conversation, they were released.

“We are trying to at least initiate a request from Russia, because Germany isn«t particularly eager to transfer the case,” said Zhanat. “Alexander was summoned for our Kazakh case. He showed a Russian passport, and according to legislation, Russian citizens are not extradited. And he requested the case. Then he came with his mother. Their daughter wasn»t nearby. Who she is with, what she is doing—we don«t know.”

The Sailybayeva family«s lawyer told MSK1.RU that after their statement, a case was opened in Kazakhstan, but under the article on torture. According to Raziya Nurmashayeva, the abuse of Aigul began as soon as she was married off.

“And then it continued repeatedly. Her mother learned about this only when Aigul disappeared. Friends started telling that both her husband and mother-in-law beat her,” explained the lawyer. “Aigul didn«t tell her parents because they were against this marriage. She said: ‘No, I will manage. We will be the happiest family.’ She was used to solving problems herself, so she didn»t tell her relatives anything, so that they wouldn«t say: ‘We told you so.’”

After the case of Aigul Sailybayeva became high-profile, the head of Russia«s Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin ordered a procedural check. The brother of the deceased girl told MSK1.RU that investigators invited the relatives to Moscow. But when and in what capacity—as suspects or victims—is still unclear.

Alexander Dontsov deleted his social media, and when trying to call him, an auto-reply says that “the number is dialed incorrectly.” Dontsov«s father and mother do not answer calls.

Many compare the case of Aigul Sailybayeva with the murder of Saltanat Nukenova. The girl was killed by former Minister of Economy of Kazakhstan Kuandyk Bishimbayev. We told more in a separate story.