A man found not guilty by reason of insanity in a 2019 Vienna stabbing death used a routine 48-hour pass from a state psychiatric hospital to board an international flight and disappear, according to court filings obtained by multiple news outlets. The case has exposed a gap in Virginia law that allows mental health facilities to grant unsupervised community visits even when a judge has ordered continued confinement.

As we reported Aug. 18, Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda left the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Falls Church on July 6 for a taxpayer-funded apartment in Alexandria.

He never returned.

Instead, he flew from Dulles International Airport on a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul, then continued to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, according to court documents obtained by WTOP.

Who approved the pass?

NVMHI's Internal Forensic Privileging Committee had authorized Toshpulodzoda for unaccompanied community visits of up to 48 hours, a privilege the facility granted since 2024, Fox News reported. Because that authorization remained in place, he was legally permitted to leave unsupervised in the period leading up to his escape.

The approval existed even after Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Stephen Shannon ruled on June 29 that Toshpulodzoda "remained mentally ill and in need of inpatient hospitalization" and ordered he not be released without further court action. Virginia law treats temporary passes and permanent conditional release as separate legal mechanisms, meaning the pass did not technically violate the judge's order.

The passport question

The pass system was not the only door that opened for Toshpulodzoda. In May 2024, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano's office joined the defense in asking a judge to allow an escorted visit to the Tajikistan Embassy so Toshpulodzoda could obtain a passport, according to the Daily Wire.

Laura Birnbaum, chief of staff for Descano's office, told the Daily Wire that prosecutors had consistently opposed Toshpulodzoda's permanent release. "We have opposed his release specifically because of community concerns," Birnbaum said.

A contrast in Loudoun County

The case stands in contrast to a similar situation in neighboring Loudoun County. When NVMHI proposed granting 16-hour unsupervised visits to Melvin Wasike, who also stabbed someone to death, Loudoun Commonwealth's Attorney Bob Anderson publicly objected and contacted the hospital. NVMHI reversed its decision.

What happens now

A bench warrant has been issued for Toshpulodzoda's arrest, and Descano's office has asked the court for a judicial capias so he can be apprehended at any U.S. port of entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an alert. No effort to locate him abroad has been described in court filings.

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which operates NVMHI, has not responded to media requests for comment or indicated whether any internal policy review is underway.

In December 2019, Toshpulodzoda stabbed his landlord Mohammad Hemmatian, 61, to death inside a Vienna home. Responding officers found him covered in blood. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in October 2022.