Trial begins for wife of specialist sergeant who died suspiciously on wedding night

In an incident that occurred on June 12 in the Talas district of Kayseri, groom Ümit Canpolat was found shot in the head with a handgun at his home after midnight, having returned from his wedding. The first hearing of the case, in which Ümit Canpolat's wife, M.C., is being tried on charges of murdering him, began at the Kayseri 2nd High Criminal Court. The hearing was attended by the defendant M.C., who is being tried without arrest, her lawyer, and the mother of the deceased, Döndü Canpolat, his father Ali Canpolat, his older brother, his sisters, and their lawyers.

Describing the day of the incident, the defendant wife M.C. stated that when they returned home after the wedding, her aunt—who is also Ümit Canpolat's mother—called her to talk about a gift given in an envelope at the wedding, which caused tension between her and Ümit Canpolat. M.C. stated that they could not enter the house because Ümit Canpolat had forgotten the key behind the door and they had to call a locksmith, which led to an argument and caused him to raise his voice. M.C. stated that after the locksmith opened the door, they entered the house and she went to the bathroom; a short while later, she heard a gunshot, saw Ümit Canpolat on the floor covered in blood, and felt scared and her hands were shaking. She said she first called an ambulance and then her mother-in-law (her aunt) and her own uncle. M.C. described the moments following the incident, saying, "His mother, father, and brother arrived. His brother told me, 'Pick up the gun.' I couldn't pick up the gun. His father pushed the gun with his hand, his brother took it and put it on the towel his mother brought."

Stating that the brother, İ. Canpolat, applied pressure to the wound of the injured Ümit Canpolat, M.C. said, "The ambulance arrived and they took Ümit away. I was very scared."

Expressing that she and Ümit Canpolat had been engaged for 5 years, M.C. claimed that during this time, the late Ümit Canpolat gambled and repeatedly incurred large debts. Stating that they fought frequently due to gambling, M.C. said, "We fought like cats and dogs. Gambling debts were constantly coming in. I tried talking nicely, it didn't work; I tried talking harshly, it didn't work." Claiming that Ümit Canpolat had previously attempted suicide, M.C. said, "I think he killed himself to punish his family and me."

Lawyers argued

M.C.'s lawyer requested that the hearing be recorded via SEGBİS (Audio and Visual Information System). Stating that the family and her client had done everything they could to save Ümit Canpolat from gambling but failed, the lawyer argued that the incident happened for this reason, saying, "My client has been lynched on television for months." During the speech of M.C.'s lawyer, an argument broke out between them and the lawyer for Ümit Canpolat's family.

Stating that her client M.C. had given statements 9 times and that all her statements were consistent with each other, the lawyer said that an attempt was being made to create material for a scenario prepared with a broken chair that was not at the scene.

Mother Döndü Canpolat: "My son wanted to divorce"

Stating that M.C. was her niece and that her father, brother, and uncle were constantly in and out of prison, mother Döndü Canpolat said, "I didn't like this family. I told my son not to marry her. They were happy for the first 3 months, then it was all fighting, violence, and threats. She always belittled him and blamed him for gambling. My son constantly wanted to separate, but she kept him with threats. She even forced him into the marriage with threats."

Responding to a question about the audio recordings presented in court regarding herself, Döndü Canpolat claimed that her daughter-in-law had the audio recordings made. Other relatives of Ümit Canpolat also stated that Ümit Canpolat did not have a gambling habit and that M.C. was the one who wanted to separate.

Prosecutor requested her arrest

Ümit Canpolat's lawyers, who requested the arrest of M.C., also requested that a television broadcast be transcribed and added to the court records. The prosecution also requested in its opinion that M.C. be tried under arrest.

At the end of the hearing, which lasted approximately 8 hours, the court panel ordered the forcible appearance of witnesses who did not attend and decided that M.C.'s judicial control conditions should continue and that she should be tried without arrest.