Hospital Pass Turns Into International Escape

A Virginia man found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity skipped out on a court-ordered mental hospital and boarded a one-way flight out of the country.

Story Snapshot

Toshpulodzoda left Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute on an authorized 48-hour pass on July 6, 2026.
He never returned on July 8 as required, according to an August 5 court filing.
Court records say he flew from Dulles International Airport to Tajikistan through Istanbul.
The hospital put him on escape status, canceled his pass, and issued a facility warrant.
Virginia law makes escaping custody as an insanity acquittee a Class 6 felony.

Killer Vanishes After Weekend Hospital Pass

Toshpulodzoda was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of Mohammad Hemmatian. Court records reviewed by FOX 5 show the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute let him leave the facility on July 6 for a 48-hour community visit. State law allows these unaccompanied passes for acquittees under psychiatric supervision. He was due back on July 8. He never showed up.

Court documents state plainly that “the Acquittee failed to return to NVMHI on July 8, 2026, as required.” Instead of heading back to the Falls Church facility, he went to Washington Dulles International Airport and boarded a one-way flight bound for Tajikistan, connecting through Istanbul. That itinerary, laid out in the filing, shows he was not simply late. He was leaving the country entirely.

Hospital Declared Escape Status

Once staff realized he had not come back, the hospital moved fast. Court records show the facility placed him on escape status, revoked his pass, and issued a warrant. The Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, located at 3302 Gallows Road in Falls Church, is the state’s forensic inpatient facility for cases just like this one. Virginia law backs up that response with real teeth.

Under Virginia Code, an acquittee who escapes custody after an insanity verdict is guilty of a Class 6 felony. The same code section that governs his commitment, Section 19.2-182.2, places insanity acquittees under the custody of the state’s mental health commissioner for evaluation and treatment. That custody status is exactly what he is accused of violating when he boarded that flight instead of returning to the hospital.

Prosecutors Had Already Fought His Release

Fairfax County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney office told FOX 5 that clinicians found Toshpulodzoda insane at the time he killed Mohammad Hemmatian. Prosecutors had opposed his release at prior annual review hearings, arguing he should stay under close supervision rather than gain more freedom in the community. Those objections now look prescient. A man prosecutors did not trust with liberty was handed a weekend pass and used it to leave the country.

This is not some isolated fluke in how states handle dangerous offenders found insane. Research on forensic psychiatric facilities shows unauthorized absences do happen, though rates vary widely depending on how secure a unit is. But a low national rate offers no comfort to a Virginia community that watched a man responsible for a killing walk out of a mental hospital and vanish onto an international flight. The system exists precisely to prevent this kind of outcome, and in this case it did not.

A System Under Fresh Scrutiny

Virginia’s insanity-acquittee framework relies on annual review hearings, supervised passes, and escape statutes to balance treatment with public safety. This case tests every part of that framework at once. A man accused of killing another human being was granted a 48-hour community pass, and the state’s own paperwork now shows he used that trust to leave the United States.

Conservatives have long argued that courts and hospitals too often prioritize an offender’s rehabilitation over the safety of law-abiding citizens. This case fits that pattern exactly. A killer found insane, not innocent, was given the keys to an airport instead of a locked ward, and Fairfax County prosecutors who fought his release are left watching their warnings play out in real time.

Virginia officials have issued a warrant, but a warrant means little once someone has already landed overseas. Families of victims and law-abiding Virginians deserve a system that keeps dangerous people secured, not one that hands them a weekend pass and hopes for the best.