20 Jul 2018 15:12

Nazarbayev orders thorough investigation of murder of Kazakh figure skater Ten

ASTANA. July 20 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has ordered Prosecutor General Kairat Kozhamzharov and Interior Minister Kalmukhanbet Kasymov to take under special control the case involving the murder of Denis Ten, a figure skater who won bronze at the Sochi Olympics, the presidential press service said on Friday.

"The president has ordered the prosecutor general and the interior minister to take the case involving the killing of Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Denis Ten under special control and ensure that the investigation is thorough and objective," the press service said.

The presidential administration was ordered to monitor the investigation closely, it said.

Ten sustained a lethal stab wound to his thigh while trying to stop two thieves who were stealing his car mirrors in the center of Almaty on Thursday. He was rushed to Almaty's central hospital in critical condition and died several hours later because of severe blood loss.

One of the suspects was detained. He confessed to committing the crime. The second suspect is still at large.

Ten, who turned 25 on June 13, was Kazakhstan's first and so far only figure skater to win medals at the Winter Olympic Games (2014), the World Championships (2013), the Four Continents Championship (2015), the Winter Universiade (2017), the Asian Winter Games (2011), and the Grand Prix of Figure Skating events. Taking first in a 2008 Junior Grand Prix event, Ten became the first Kazakh figure skater to win a medal at an International Skating Union tournament.