Suspect fetched knife before fatal Elektrostal stabbing, investigators say
The migrant suspect in the high-profile murder in Elektrostal fought with one person at a bus stop and later stabbed another to death. This was stated by Mikhail Demchenko, deputy head of the Elektrostal investigative department, during the broadcast of the program «Central Television» on NTV.
On the late evening of January 18, 2026, in the Moscow region city of Elektrostal, 19-year-old migrant Imomali Turdiev made a remark to a group of four people on a bus who were behaving aggressively, in his opinion. After the conflict, a fight broke out at the bus stop. Some time later, Imomali stabbed one of those guys with a knife. 18-year-old Ilya Polezhaev was buried on January 21, and his friends explained that the indecent gestures from the bus were meant as a joke for their female friend.
According to the investigator, after the verbal conflict on the bus, a fight occurred «one-on-one,» not «one against four.»
«It has been established that after the group, consisting of four young men, got off at the public transport stop together with the suspect, a fight occurred, in which the suspect and one person from the group of young men participated,» explained Mikhail Demchenko, deputy head of the Elektrostal investigative department, on NTV.
To a clarifying question about whether the deceased was involved in the fight, Mikhail Demchenko answered: it was not Ilya, but his friend.
«No, it is not the same person who died (Ilya — Ed.), but his friend,» added the investigator.
The TV channel, citing the investigator, claims that after the fight, Imomali returned home for a knife, called his brother for help, and they came to the stop together. How much time passed, whether the young people were at the same stop at that moment or if they were being looked for — is not specified.
Then, according to the investigation, at the doors of another bus, Imomali grabbed one of the guys from that group and hit him several times. Ilya stood up for his friend, hit Imomali, and slipped. At that moment, a third person saw a knife in Imomali«s hands, sprayed him with pepper spray, but he stabbed the lying Ilya three times with the knife.
The report claims that Ilya found the strength to stand up and shot at Imomali with a flare gun, but missed. By that time, Imomali«s friend had also been affected by the pepper spray.
The murder became known the next day, January 19. In the evening, the migrant suspected of the murder was detained, and he confessed to the crime but said he was in a state of shock. Imomali«s brother claimed that he was always quiet, and at that time, 3-4 people stood against him. The bus driver who was taking the still-alive Ilya to the hospital shared his details. The deceased 18-year-old Ilya Polezhaev was bid farewell in Elektrostal on January 21. MSK1.RU told how the Moscow region city where the tragedy occurred lives.
