A Virginia man who was found legally insane at the time of a 2019 killing has fled the country after leaving a state psychiatric hospital on a 48-hour pass.
Fairfax Circuit Court records, filed Aug. 5 and obtained by WTOP, show Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda flew from Dulles International Airport to Istanbul and then to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, instead of returning to the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, where he was committed. Days earlier, a judge ruled that Toshpulodzoda remained mentally ill and needed continued inpatient treatment.
On July 6, he was permitted by the psychiatric facility to leave for a two-day weekend/community pass. Instead of returning July 8, he boarded a Turkish Airlines flight out of Dulles. The facility immediately placed him on an “escape status,” and Virginia State Police, as well as federal authorities, were notified. Customs and Border Protection issued an alert.
In December 2019, Toshpulodzoda was charged with killing Mohammed Hemmatian, 61, in a Vienna, Virginia, home. In 2022, Toshpulodzoda was found not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered committed to the state mental facility the same year.
Virginia law allows patients to acquire privileges as their treatment continues. One of those privileges includes temporary day or weekend passes as long as clinical teams concur. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office supported such a pass in 2024, during which Toshpulodzoda obtained a passport, according to multiple news reports.
A bench warrant has been issued for Toshpulodzoda’s arrest, according to Fox 5, which first reported the story.
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