Chilling confession from healthcare worker who beat elderly man at care center

At the Private Trakya Care Center in Çerkezköy, 72-year-old Avni Kılıçaslan, a father of three, was allegedly taken to the hospital after falling to the ground due to a blow to the head at the facility. Following a complaint by the family, an investigation was deepened, and security camera footage from the care center was examined. As a result, institution staff member M.S. was detained in Keşan and subsequently arrested and sent to prison, while M.C.B. was released under judicial control.

LIFE-THREATENING CONDITION PERSISTS

Kılıçaslan, who was determined to have suffered a brain hemorrhage, was taken to the intensive care unit at Tekirdağ Dr. İsmail Fehmi Cumalıoğlu City Hospital following initial treatment at Çerkezköy State Hospital. It was learned that the elderly man remains in critical condition.

REMOVED IN AN UNCONSCIOUS STATE

In the institution's security camera footage, it was seen that two staff members, M.S. and M.C.B., were trying to force Kılıçaslan to stay in his room. The door, which Kılıçaslan wanted to exit through, was kicked repeatedly from the outside by the staff. In the footage, it was observed that the staff member M.S., who was using significant force, kicked the door shut onto Kılıçaslan, and both staff members entered the elderly man's room and stayed inside for a while. While it is alleged that the elderly man was assaulted inside the room, which was not visible to the security camera, it was seen that after a long time, M.S. brought Kılıçaslan out in a wheelchair in an unconscious state.

DENIED THE ACCUSATIONS

M.S., who was arrested and sent to prison during the investigation, denied the accusations against him. In his statement, M.S. claimed that on the day of the incident, around 06:45, he entered the room of Kılıçaslan, who was receiving care on the first floor, to check on him and found him fallen on the floor with blood on his face. He stated that he then made an announcement over the radio to request a nurse, and after the nurse arrived, they placed him in a wheelchair, took him to the common area, and subsequently transported him to the hospital by ambulance.

PREVENTED HIM FROM LEAVING THE ROOM

M.C.B., who was released under judicial control after being detained during the investigation, stated in his testimony: "On the date of the incident, while the door to Avni's room was open, I saw M.S. inside trying to lift Avni from the floor by holding his arm. I also entered and sat Avni in a wheelchair. At that moment, there was bleeding on Avni's forehead, which I wiped with a cloth. I do not know if this bleeding was caused by M.S.'s actions. When I asked M.S., he said he had fallen. About half an hour later, I went to his room to check on Avni and saw that he was in a dazed state. I told M.S. that he needed to prepare Avni and leave him in the C-block common hall. However, M.S. left Avni in the common hall where everyone was, and then we transferred him to the hospital with our care center's ambulance-type vehicle." It was learned that regarding the footage showing M.C.B. preventing Kılıçaslan from leaving the room, he defended himself by saying, "I prevented him from leaving the room because I did not want the other patients to be disturbed."

"I BOUNCED HIM LIKE A BALL"

Statements were also taken from other employees at the center regarding the incident. In the statement of N.K., an employee at the Trakya Care Center, it was learned that on the day of the incident, around 06:45, their shift ended and he went down to the ground floor of A-block to rest. He stated that a conversation began between M.S. and other employees in the corridor leading to the fire escape, and because he was nearby, he heard M.S. say, "Avni and I cursed at each other. Avni resisted not entering his room, so I kicked the wheelchair to force him inside. Avni fell to the floor with the wheelchair. I picked Avni up from the floor and put him on his bed. At that moment, Avni grabbed my collar and tore off my ID badge, so I took out the flashlight in my pocket, shone it in Avni's face, and beat him quite a bit with slaps and punches. Then, not satisfied, I threw him to the floor. I kicked him in the head on the floor; I bounced him like a ball." He added that M.S. then left the corridor saying, "Let me go check on him to make sure he hasn't died," and that Avni Kılıçaslan was taken to Çerkezköy State Hospital about half an hour later after his condition worsened.

ADMITTED TO THE ASSAULT

In his statement, another staff member, A.A., stated that on the same day around 06:30, their shift ended and he went down to the corridor leading to the fire escape on the ground floor of A-block with his colleagues S.Y. and M.C.B. to take a break. He said, "The person named M.S. came to us. When he arrived, there were bloodstains on his hands and his hands were injured. Suddenly, he started talking about assaulting the person named Avni. Showing us his hands, he said, 'I went to Avni's room, shone a flashlight in Avni's face, beat him a little in his bed, then Avni fell to the floor, hit his head, and I kicked him in the face.' As soon as M.C.B. heard what M.S. was saying, he left us. M.S. followed him immediately. 3-5 minutes later, M.C.B. made an announcement over the radio saying there was an emergency hospital departure and that they needed to go to the hospital immediately. Then I learned that the person named Avni was injured. The person named Avni was taken to the hospital for treatment."

"LEAVE THE MAN ALONE"

The statement of another staff member, S.Y., was also taken, and it was learned that he confirmed the statements of A.A. A patient staying at the institution, Ş.İ., also stated that he woke up because he heard noises at night. When he went to the room where the sounds were coming from, he saw care center staff M.C.B. and M.S. assaulting Avni Kılıçaslan, who was lying on the floor, by kicking him in the stomach and chest. He said that when he told them, "What are you doing, leave the man alone," they did not answer him and continued to assault Avni Kılıçaslan. He then went to his room and went to sleep, adding that he heard Avni Kılıçaslan say, "Help, police," while he was being assaulted.

STATEMENT TAKEN FROM THE RESPONSIBLE MANAGER

In the investigation, the statement of the Trakya Care Center Responsible Manager, F.A., was also taken. F.A. stated that he received information on the day of the incident around 07:45 that a patient named Avni Kılıçaslan had fallen and was injured and was being taken to the hospital. He said, "Around 08:30, I examined the camera recordings. When I examined the camera recordings, I realized that M.C.B. and M.S. had been negligent during the patient's transport to the hospital. Later, I terminated the employment of the two individuals. On February 7, our patient named Ş.İ. wanted to talk to me. When I went to his room, he said that those two people had beaten Avni Kılıçaslan. Upon this, while I was re-watching the camera recordings, the patient's family arrived and my examination was interrupted. After the family said there was an assault based on the information they received at the hospital, I quickly examined the camera recordings and prepared the documents. On February 8, I went to the Çerkezköy Courthouse and delivered all the documents and camera footage regarding the matter."