SHE MARRIED A 72-YEAR-OLD Arab SHEIKH — And after 6 MONTHS she was found in pieces in the kitchen..
PART1
On June 22nd, 2023, a Filipino maid broke a kitchen window at a villa in Ross Alka and screamed until security arrived. On the floor lay the body parts of her employer, 22-year-old Russian Alexandra Krysova. Neatly arranged in plastic containers labeled in Arabic. Alexandra Krysova studied Arabic language and culture of Islamic countries at the faculty of Oriental Studies in Nisnoggarod.
In 2022, she registered on an international dating platform aimed at Muslims seeking serious relationships. In her profile, she indicated an interest in Islamic culture and a willingness to move to an Arab country. A few months later, a user named Abdul Haleem bin Sahed al-Kasimi began corresponding with her.
The man introduces himself as a 72-year-old widowerower and a distant relative of the ruling family of the Emirate of Russ Al-Qaa in the United Arab Emirates. According to him, he owns several meat processing plants and trading markets in the region. In his correspondence, he describes himself as a devout man who is looking for a young, educated wife for a quiet family life.
Alcasimi emphasizes that he is ready to provide his spouse with comfortable living conditions and the opportunity to continue her education. Alexandra tells her family and friends about her acquaintance with an influential businessman from the UAE. She says that he is serious about marriage and is ready to formalize the relationship according to Islamic traditions.
Her parents express concern about the large age difference and cultural differences. But Alexandra convinces them that this is her conscious choice. She says that she sees marriage as an opportunity to apply her knowledge of Eastern culture in practice. In early 2023, Alexandra flies to Dubai on a tourist visa.
She meets her future husband at a hotel in the presence of several of his relatives. She calls home and reports that the man meets her expectations and looks respectable. 3 days later, she participates in a nika ceremony, an Islamic religious right of marriage. The procedure takes place in a private home in the presence of an imam and witnesses.
After the ceremony, Al Kasimi takes Alexandra’s Russian passport, explaining that it is necessary to apply for a long-term residence visa. The girl moves into his villa on the outskirts of Ross Alima, a two-story building surrounded by a high fence. Several Filipino maids work in the house who speak virtually no English. Alexandra is given a separate room and a set of traditional women’s clothing.
In the first weeks of her marriage, the girl maintains regular contact with her family and friends in Russia. She says that she is getting used to her new lifestyle, learning local traditions, and improving her knowledge of Arabic. Alexandra mentions that her husband demands strict religious observance, but explains that this is due to the peculiarities of the local culture.
She says she feels safe, although she sometimes misses home. Gradually, the nature of Alexandra’s messages begins to change. She communicates less frequently and responds to her relatives questions more reservedly. The girl mentions that her husband does not approve of frequent communication with her former acquaintances and believes that his wife should devote more time to studying the Quran and household chores.
Alexandra says that she is trying to find a balance between following the new rules and maintaining contact with her relatives. In April 2023, her calls home become even less frequent. Alexandra explains this by her busy schedule of religious classes and preparations for obtaining a permanent residence permit.
Her parents express concern and ask for her husband’s contact details, but she replies that he is against direct communication with her Russian family until all the formalities with the documents are completed. The last phone call with her parents took place at the end of April. Alexandra spoke briefly and seemed tense.
She responded evasively to questions about her well-being and plans, citing fatigue and the need to keep quiet in the house. The girl promised to call back in a week, but the call never came. In May, her relatives tried to call Alexandra, but her phone was turned off. Appeals to the Russian consulate in the UAE were unsuccessful.
No official information about problems with Russian citizens had been received. Her parents began searching through social networks and turned to acquaintances with connections in the region, but they were unable to obtain any information about Alexandra’s whereabouts. The only channel of communication remained Alexandra’s friend, a student from the same faculty, with whom the girl occasionally corresponded via messenger.
In June, she received several voice messages from Alexandra, which were the last signs of life from her. In these recordings, the girl’s voice sounded depressed and anxious. In the first message, Alexandra said that her husband spent most of the day at the mosque and hardly communicated with her at home. The girl complained of loneliness and strict restrictions on her movement around the house.
She mentioned that the maids avoided contact with her and were clearly afraid to say anything. Alexandra said that she was not allowed to leave her room without a headscarf and appropriate clothing. In the second voice message recorded a few days later, Alexandra described a strange smell of meat that was constantly present in the house.
She noted that all the kitchen knives had disappeared from the tables and drawers, which she found unusual. The girl expressed growing concern about changes in her husband’s behavior and the atmosphere in the house. The last voice message was sent on June 14th. In it, Alexandra said in a broken voice that the situation was becoming unbearable.
She mentioned physical punishment for breaking the rules and asked her friend to find a way to contact her parents. The girl said she felt her life was in danger but could not leave the house on her own. The recording cut off in the middle of a sentence. After sending her last voice message, Alexandra Krysova disappeared from all communication channels.
Her friend tried to call and text her, but the messages remained unread. The girl’s phone showed offline status in messengers. 8 days of complete silence ensued in Alcasimi’s house, ending with the screams of a Filipino maid at the kitchen window. The events of June 20th unfolded rapidly. At around 2 p.m. local time, the residential complex’s security received an emergency call from one of the houses.
The dispatcher recorded a message that a woman was screaming and banging on the window demanding help. The team on duty arrived at the scene 7 minutes later and found the Filipino maid in a state of extreme agitation in front of the first floor kitchen window. The woman named Maria Santos had been working in the Alcasimi house for about a year cleaning the living quarters.
That day, she was supposed to do a thorough cleaning of the kitchen, but she did not have the key to the room. The maid tried to knock on the door, but got no response. Looking through the kitchen window, she saw plastic containers on the floor with contents that she initially mistook for meat products for freezing.
Upon closer inspection, Maria realized that she was looking at human body parts. The containers held two arms, one leg from the knee to the foot, and part of a torso without a head. Everything was neatly packed and labeled with stickers in Arabic indicating that it was kosher frozen food. Next to the containers was an industrial meat grinder with remnants of biological tissue.
The security guards called the police and an ambulance. The first group of law enforcement officers arrived 20 minutes later and immediately cordined off the villa. The kitchen was declared a crime scene and closed for detailed investigation. Three Filipino maids and Abdul Haleem bin Sed al-Kasami himself were in the house, calmly reading the Quran in the living room.
During his arrest, the 72-year-old man did not resist and remained completely calm. He answered the police’s questions about what was happening in the kitchen in mono syllables, referring to his religious duties to cleanse the house of impurity. Alcasimi was taken to the Ross Alka police station for further questioning.
A preliminary examination of the crime scene revealed many details indicating systematic violence. In the kitchen freezer, investigators found additional body parts, long dark hair, a lower jaw with teeth, and pieces of fabric with a name embroidered in Latin letters. Forensic tests confirmed that the hair belonged to a European woman in her 20s.
Alexandra’s personal belongings were found in her bedroom, clothes, cosmetics, Arabic language study materials and a notebook with notes on local traditions. The wardrobe contained traditional women’s dresses and headscarves purchased after she moved to the UAE. On the dressing table were Russian educational documents and a medical certificate for obtaining a visa.
A search of Alcasimi’s office yielded more disturbing findings. In the desk was a folder with marriage documents, including a copy of the Nika name, an Islamic marriage certificate. There was also Alexandra’s confiscated Russian passport and a certificate of change of visa status, which had never been submitted to the relevant authorities.
Investigators paid particular attention to a diary written in Arabic by Al Casimi. It contained detailed notes on his wife’s behavior and the disciplinary measures applied to her. The entries began in January 2023 and documented the progressive tightening of punishments for various violations of the established rules.
The first entries concerned relatively mild remarks, being late for prayer, incorrect reading of the Quran, insufficiently modest clothing in the presence of maids. Punishments were limited to deprivation of food for several hours or a ban on leaving the room. Gradually, the list of violations expanded to include attempts to contact relatives without permission, expressions of dissatisfaction with living conditions, and questions about the return of documents.
By May, the entries had become more severe. Alcasimi recorded the use of physical punishment. blows with a wooden stick on the palms for refusing to perform household duties, being chained in metal shackles for attempting to leave the assigned room without permission, and forced reading of religious texts for several hours at a time.
The last entries were dated midJune and mentioned his wife’s complete disobedience and the need to take drastic measures. Alcasami wrote that the woman refused to recognize his authority as husband and head of the family which contradicted Islamic principles of family life. He considered such behavior an insult to religious feelings and a threat to the spiritual purity of the home.
In the basement of the villa, there was a small room with metal rings in the walls and shackles on chains. The maids testified that Alexandra was periodically locked in this room for several days without food or water as punishment for serious misdemeanors. In the room, investigators found traces of blood on the floor and walls, as well as scratches on metal surfaces left by fingernails.
The home’s video surveillance system included cameras in all living areas, including Alexandra’s bedroom and the kitchen. Alcasimi explained this was necessary to monitor compliance with religious rules and family discipline. The camera recordings from the last 2 weeks before the incident had been completely deleted, but technical expertise partially restored some fragments.
The restored footage captured a scene in the kitchen where Alcasimi forced Alexandra to perform humiliating acts. The girl was forced to crawl on the floor and ask for forgiveness for disobeying her husband. Other footage shows the man beating her on the back and legs with a leather belt, demanding that she repeat religious formulas in Arabic.
PART2
A medical examination of the remains confirmed the victim’s identity through dental records and DNA samples provided by relatives in Russia. A forensic medical expert determined that death was caused by asphyxiation due to compression of the neck with a leather belt. Injuries to the body indicated prolonged physical abuse, including multiple hematomas, broken ribs, and damage to internal organs.
The condition of the victim’s hands attracted particular attention from the experts. Her fingernails had been completely torn off, and her fingers had deep cuts and burns. These injuries had been inflicted shortly before her death and were evidence of torture. Tissue analysis revealed the presence of dasipam, a sedative that could have been used to suppress the victim’s resistance.
Toxicological testing also revealed traces of other medications that had not been prescribed to the girl by doctors. Residues of potent psychotropic substances were found in her body which could cause disorientation and suppress valitional functions. This indicated the possible systematic use of chemical behavior control.
The autopsy showed that some internal organs had been partially removed after death. In particular, part of the liver was missing and other abdominal organs were damaged. The nature of the injuries indicated the use of professional meat cutting tools which was consistent with Alcasimi’s work in the meat processing industry. Abdulhaleim bin Sarid Al- Casimi was questioned in the presence of an interpreter and a lawyer appointed by the suspect’s family.
The 72-year-old man appeared completely calm and answered the investigator’s questions without showing any signs of emotional distress. His testimony was recorded in Arabic and then translated into English for the record. When asked directly about his wife’s death, Alcasimi answered in the affirmative, but refused to admit that it was a crime.
According to him, he had every right to punish his wife for disobeying religious precepts and family traditions. The man claimed that he had acted within the framework of Islamic law and fulfilled his duties as head of the family to maintain order in the home. The details of Alexandra’s last days, as recounted by Alcasimi, were striking in their insensitivity.
According to him, his wife constantly violated the established rules of conduct, refused to study the Quran, and showed disrespect to her husband. She tried to secretly contact relatives in Russia, and expressed a desire to return home, which he considered a betrayal of her marital obligations. The decisive conflict occurred on June 18th when Alexandra openly declared her intention to leave the house and seek help from the Russian consulate.
Alcasimi regarded this as a final breach of marital fidelity and decided to apply the most severe punishment. He lured his wife into the basement under the pretext of needing to discuss her behavior and there threw a leather belt around her neck. According to the defendant’s testimony, Alexandra resisted and tried to free herself, but he held the belt until she stopped moving.
After her death, Alcasimi moved the body to the kitchen where he kept the meat cutting tools he used in his business. The man explained that he dismembered the corpse because he believed it was necessary to cleanse the house of impurity according to his understanding of religious norms. The dismemberment process took several hours.
Alcasimi methodically cut up the body with an industrial meat grinder and sharp knives, placing the parts in labeled plastic containers for freezing. He planned to completely dispose of the remains through the waste processing system at one of his factories. He had already managed to remove and destroy the head and some organs before the crime was discovered.
The testimony of three Filipino maids who worked in the house confirmed the systematic nature of the violence against Alexandra. Maria Santos, Rosa Fernandez, and Gloria Menddees gave detailed testimony about what they had observed over several months. The women were afraid to intervene because of threats of dismissal and deportation, but they secretly sympathized with the young Russian wife.
According to the maids, Alexandra often spent days in confinement without food or water. Alcasimi locked her in the basement in metal shackles for the slightest misdemeanors, mispronouncing Arabic words, slow performance of household duties, attempts to talk to the servants without permission. The girl was visibly losing weight and becoming increasingly withdrawn and frightened.
Particularly severe punishments followed Alexandra’s attempts to contact the outside world. Alcasimi controlled all her communications and regularly checked her phone for unauthorized calls or messages. When he discovered violations, the punishment included beating her palms with a wooden stick and forcing her to read religious texts for hours in an uncomfortable position.
Maid Rosa Fernandez recounted how Alexandra had repeatedly asked her for help in recent weeks. The girl begged her to find a way to send a message to the Russian consulate or contact her family in Russia. She said she feared for her life and felt that her husband was planning to harm her seriously. The maid wanted to help but was afraid of losing her job and being punished.
The house was under strict control which made it virtually impossible to escape or seek help. All the windows were barred, the doors were locked with electronic locks, and the property was guarded around the clock. Alexandra had no access to money, documents, or means of communication without her husband’s supervision. Even trips to the toilet and shower were monitored and limited in time.
The psychological pressure was compounded by physical exhaustion. Alexandra was given minimal food, often forced to fast under religious pretexts and compelled to perform exhausting household chores. She was forced to wash clothes by hand, scrub the floors on her knees, and perform other humiliating tasks as part of the process of teaching her obedience.
The girl was denied medical care even when she suffered serious injuries. Maid saw Alexandra suffering from infections caused by unsanitary conditions in the basement. She developed skin diseases, but Alcasimi considered illness to be punishment for sins and refused to seek medical attention. He prescribed treatment with prayers and readings from the Quran.
Religious justification for violence played a central role in Alcasimi’s worldview. He considered himself a true believer in Islam who was following divine instructions on how to run a family. In his view, a wife had to be totally submissive to her husband as Allah’s representative on earth. Any resistance was seen as blasphemy that needed to be severely punished.
The investigation established that the online dating platform through which Alexandra and Alcasimi met did not conduct sufficient user verification. The man provided false information about his marital status and character. In reality, he had been married three times, and all his previous marriages had ended with his wives disappearing under mysterious circumstances.
Alcasimi’s first wife, a Filipino woman named Lords Castillo, disappeared in 2016, 8 months after the wedding. Officially, she was declared to have left the country voluntarily, but her relatives claimed that she never contacted them after her disappearance. His second wife, Fatima Ahmed, a Pakistani woman, disappeared in 2019 under similar circumstances.
The investigation into these earlier cases was reopened after Alcasimi’s arrest. The police discovered that in both cases, the women had complained to friends about their husband’s abuse and expressed fear for their lives. Their passports were also confiscated under the pretext of processing documents, and their last contacts with relatives ceased suddenly and without explanation.
A large-scale search was conducted on Alcasimi’s estate using special dogs and ground penetrating radar equipment. Three areas of disturbed soil were found in the garden behind the house, which could indicate burials. Exumation revealed human remains preliminarily identified as belonging to two women of Asian origin.
Additional evidence was found in the storage rooms of Alcasimi’s meat processing plants. Workers confirmed that the owner periodically brought in additional biological waste for disposal in industrial furnaces. He explained this as necessary to destroy expired products, but the amount of waste did not correspond to the volume of production.
An examination of financial documents showed that Alcasimi used online dating platforms as a way to attract victims to satisfy his sadistic tendencies. He specifically sought out young educated women from other countries who were in a vulnerable position and easily manipulated by the prospect of a secure life in a wealthy Arab country.
The scheme was worked out in detail. Al Casimi created an attractive image of a successful businessman and devout Muslim seeking a life partner to start a traditional family. He promised his wives comfortable living conditions, the opportunity to study Islamic culture, and a religious education. After the women moved to the UAE, he isolated them from the outside world and gradually increased his control and violence.
A psychiatric examination of Alcasimi revealed signs of antisocial personality disorder with sadistic traits, but found him sane at the time of the crimes. The man was fully aware of the unlawful nature of his actions but considered himself entitled to dispose of his wife’s lives and deaths according to his perverted understanding of religious principles.
The trial of Abdul Haleem bin Sed al- Kasimi was held in closed session by decision of the judicial authorities of Ras Al- Khima. The official justification for the secrecy was the need to protect the dignity of the defendant’s family and prevent negative impact on the Emirates’s reputation. Alexandra Krysova’s relatives from Russia were denied participation in the trial on the pretext of lack of necessary documents and visa formalities.
The defense was based on the claim that the defendant was mentally incompetent and unable to control his actions due to scenile personality disorder. Alcasimi’s lawyers presented the conclusions of private psychiatrists who diagnosed him with progressive dementia and religious hallucinations. According to their version, the man did not understand the illegality of his actions and acted under the influence of morbid fantasies.
The Emirates religious council supported this version of the defense, stating that a true believer could not have committed such crimes in his right mind. Representatives of the clergy claimed that Alcasimi’s actions contradicted the fundamentals of Islam and could only have been the result of mental illness.
This position allowed them to avoid accusations that the crimes were motivated by religious beliefs. The court deemed the testimony of the maids unreliable due to their dependent position and possible interest in receiving compensation. The defendant’s lawyers argued that the Filipino women could have distorted the facts under the influence of promises of financial rewards from the victim’s Russian relatives.
The court took these arguments into account when evaluating the evidence. Examinations of the remains of Alcasimi’s previous wives did not provide conclusive results for additional charges. The condition of the bone tissue did not allow the cause of death to be determined with certainty and the lack of documentary evidence of identity complicated identification.
The investigation was forced to focus solely on the case of Alexandra Krysova as the only one with sufficient evidence. The prosecution sought the death penalty for premeditated murder with particular cruelty, but the defense insisted on a finding of insanity and referral for compulsory treatment. The court proceedings lasted several weeks with religious authorities and medical experts participating.
The position of influential members of the Emirates ruling family who advocated for the most lenient sentence possible played a decisive role. The court’s final decision was a compromise between the demands of justice and the need to preserve the reputation of the local elite. Abdul Haleem bin Sahed al-Kasimi was found guilty of unintentional manslaughter due to mental disorder.
The court ordered him to undergo compulsory treatment at a private psychiatric clinic in Ajman with a review of the case in 5 years. This sentence caused outrage among Russia and human rights organizations, but official protests did not lead to a review of the decision. The UAE authorities stated that the sentence was in accordance with local law and took into account all the circumstances of the case.
Russia’s diplomatic attempts to secure a harsher punishment for the killer were met with formal excuses about the independence of the Emirates judicial system. Alexandra Krysova’s parents received official notification of their daughter’s death only 2 months after the verdict was handed down.
The document stated that the girl had died as a result of a domestic tragedy in the family and had been buried according to local traditions. Details of the crime and the trial were not disclosed on the pretext of protecting private information. Attempts by relatives to obtain the body for burial in Russia were rejected by local authorities.
The official justification was the need to observe Islamic burial rituals and the impossibility of exumation after religious rights had been performed. In reality, Alexandra’s remains were cremated without the family’s consent, and her ashes were scattered in the desert outside the city. Alexandra Krysova’s Russian passport was destroyed by order of the local authorities as a document belonging to a person who had converted to Islam and taken a new name after marriage.
The Russian consulate received notification that the citizen had voluntarily renounced her Russian citizenship in favor of the status of wife of a UAE citizen which precluded further claims by the Russian side. The media in the UAE received tacet instructions not to cover the Alcasimi case in order to avoid damaging the region’s tourist appeal.
Local journalists who attempted to investigate the circumstances of the crime faced obstacles in obtaining information and pressure from the authorities. Several publications and independent media outlets were quickly removed at the request of the sensors. International human rights organizations tried to draw attention to the case as an example of systemic discrimination against women in some Arab countries.
However, their efforts did not receive widespread attention due to the geopolitical interests of Western countries in maintaining good relations with the UAE. Economic ties proved to be more important than protecting human rights and justice for victims of crime. The private psychiatric clinic in Ajan where Alcasimi was treated belonged to his distant relatives and provided the most comfortable conditions possible.
The patient lived in a separate cottage on the grounds of the medical center with personal staff and the ability to receive visitors. The treatment regime was more like a respectable vacation than forced hospitalization. Medical reports on Alcasimi’s condition were formal and contained standard phrases about the gradual improvement of the patients mental health.
The clinic’s doctors regularly reported to the judicial authorities on the progress of the treatment and expressed optimistic predictions about the possibility of early release. None of the independent specialists were given access to examine the patient. 2 years after the start of treatment, Alcasimi’s condition was reviewed by a medical commission which concluded that he had made a full recovery and posed no danger to society.
The man was discharged from the clinic with recommendations to continue outpatient observation and undergo regular preventive examinations. In fact, he was given complete freedom of action and the opportunity to return to his normal life. After his discharge, Alcasimi returned to managing his businesses and resumed his activity on online dating platforms under new names.
Law enforcement agencies did not monitor him in any way, and his criminal record was formally expuned under an amnesty for persons suffering from mental disorders. The public was not informed about the killer’s release and returned to normal life. The case of Alexandra Krysova is one of many examples of how corruption, religious fanaticism, and legal irresponsibility can lead to impunity for the most brutal crimes.
A young Russian student who dreamed of studying Eastern culture and starting a family became a victim of a system that values the reputation of influential families above human life and justice. This
