Forensic not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity commitments replace criminal incarceration with involuntary psychiatric confinement, but the state's custody obligation travels with the patient. That obligation failed twice for Abdulloi Doniyor Toshpulodzoda, a Tajik national held at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Falls Church after being acquitted by reason of insanity in the killing of his landlord. He was authorized to leave on two escorted passes and did not return: the second ended with a flight to Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The first outing brought Toshpulodzoda to the Tajik embassy in Foggy Bottom, Washington D.C., where he obtained a passport. The second brought him to an Alexandria apartment. He left with an airline ticket to Dushanbe and departed the country. The Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute sits within the congressional district of Rep. Donald Beyer, a Democrat whose coverage area also includes Alexandria and Arlington.
The authorization trail
The office of Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano did not oppose the escorted embassy visit, which occurred in 2024, according to spokesperson Laura Birnbaum. Birnbaum said the office has argued multiple times in court against Toshpulodzoda's outright release.
Beyer acknowledged the outcome to Fox News Digital and called it a system failure. "I don't know whether it's failure to put him in the mental hospital or the hospital didn't have the right security to keep them there," he said. He could not specify where the lapse originated. He said he presumed Descano was justified in the original commitment decision and pushed back on characterizing Fairfax County as a sanctuary jurisdiction.
On the deportation question, Beyer said removal alone would be inadequate. "Deportation doesn't seem sufficient punishment for someone who committed a major felony," he said.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose district covers neighboring Loudoun and Fauquier counties, told Fox News Digital that undocumented individuals who commit violent crimes should face accountability under U.S. law, including review for deportation. He drew a distinction for minor offenses, arguing those warrant case-by-case review rather than automatic removal. On violent crime he was direct: "they need to be held accountable."
Toshpulodzoda is now in Tajikistan. When asked by Fox News Digital whether federal authorities should investigate, Beyer said it was "a bad thing" that Toshpulodzoda was no longer in U.S. custody and not subject to U.S. law.