Shurpayev was born in Makhachkala, Dagestan, and graduated from a local university with a specialization in philology.
He worked for Channel One and mostly served in Russia's North Caucasus region, including Dagestan and Chechnya.
On 21 March 2008, Shurpayev was found dead in his apartment in Moscow with stab wounds and a belt around his neck.
", saying that the owners of a Dagestan newspaper had banned his column and told its staff not to mention his name in publications.
On 30 July 2008, two Tajikistani citizens, 25-year-old Masrudzhon Yatimov and 21-year-old Nadzhmiddin Mukhiddinov, were found guilty of Shurpayev's murder by the Supreme Court of Tajikistan and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment each.