Chilling murder in Erzurum: He stabbed his wife and daughter

The trial of Zülküf Böçkün (47), who stabbed his wife Kadriye Böçkün (44) 22 times and his daughter Asude Böçkün (20) 14 times to death in Erzurum due to jealousy, has begun. 

The family's youngest child, A.H.B., who was at home during the incident and explained that she was woken up by her sister, said, “My sister said to me, 'H., get up, I'm about to die.'

In the incident that took place on the night of March 14 in the Yunus Emre neighborhood of the Palandöken district, Zülküf Böçkün killed his wife Kadriye Böçkün and his daughter Asude Böçkün with a knife. 

Zülküf Böçkün, who fled after the incident, was caught by police teams at the entrance to the Çat district. The trial of Böçkün, who faces two counts of aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'intentional killing of a spouse or a descendant or ascendant,' has begun at the Erzurum 3rd High Criminal Court. Testifying before the judge today, Böçkün asked for forgiveness from his 3 children, his wife's mother and father, and his own family for his actions.

Stating that he stabbed his wife because he thought she was cheating on him, Böçkün said, “My wife was talking to a man I didn't know. I asked who this person was. She said he was a politician and was working on her job. I said, if he is well-intentioned, don't I need to meet him too? Such a conversation took place between my wife and me. After this conversation, she said to me, ‘Trust me, don't get involved in the rest.’ I told my son about what happened, and he said, ‘Don't be unnecessarily jealous.’ I said, ‘Someone who calls at 21.00 will call later at late hours too. This bothers us,'” he stated.

"I DON'T REMEMBER HOW I KILLED THEM"

Stating that his wife's phone rang at 23:50 while he was sleeping on the day of the incident, and that he even thought there was an earthquake because it was on vibrate and they were very scared, Zülküf Böçkün said the following:

''I asked my wife why this person was calling at this hour. My wife took the phone and went out of the room. Who has the right to call a woman with 4 children at midnight? She said, ‘Trust me, he will do my job.’ I told her that when she does things behind my back, bad things come to my mind. My wife said to me, ‘Are you even a man?’ and said that what I was doing was not manly. She said, ‘You cannot kill me, you cannot bring yourself to kill me.’ I got angry, especially when she said to me, ‘Where is that heart in you?’

I saw a knife on the deep freezer in the bedroom. I took the knife and came towards my wife, saying, ‘Call the person, let's talk.’ My wife said to me, ‘Even if you kill me, even if I die, I will not call. Don't ruin my job, my appointment letter from the governor's office has been issued.’ I said, ‘Then you are bad,’ and I remember stabbing her 2-3 times. Then my daughter Asude, who heard the noises, came to me. She had a knife in her hand. She hit me with the knife, saying, ‘Dad, what have you done, damn you, you dishonorable person.’ I don't remember what happened after that with my daughter. I think I might have had a fit of madness at that moment.

Later, I remember going to the kitchen and getting a second knife. However, I don't remember stabbing my wife or my child after taking this knife. When my daughter hit my hand and the knife fell, I stabbed my daughter, but I don't remember how many times I stabbed her or how I stabbed her. After that, my wife and my sister Remziye, who came into the room, left the room together. I don't remember anything after this moment. My daughter Asude and my youngest son were in the house.

My other children, Abdullah Hasan and Harun, had gone to Rize for a trip. They were not at home. My father Abdullah, who resides in Diyarbakır, and my sisters Remziye, Sevim, and Rabia were there. Other than them, there was no one else in the house. Before the incident, I had no knowledge based on observation that my wife was cheating on me. No matter what I do, my wife and daughter will not come back. I have 3 children affected by the incident; I ask for forgiveness from my wife's family and my own family.''

Upon the statement of the High Criminal Court president, "A total of 109,664 pieces of evidence on your wife's mobile phone were examined, and no picture, message, voice recording, or similar criminal element that could be considered a romantic relationship between her and the person named C.Y. mentioned in the file was found," he said, "Oh, thank God. Alhamdulillah. I regret killing them, but there is nothing I can do. I know God will not forgive me, especially because of my daughter."

"MY SISTER WOKE ME UP AND SAID, ‘I AM ABOUT TO DIE’"

The testimony of A.H.B. (13), the youngest of the 4 children of the Kadriye-Zülküf Böçkün couple, who described what happened on the night of the incident, moved those in the courtroom to tears. Saying that her sister Asude came to her while she was sleeping and woke her up, A.H.B. said, "When I woke up, my sister's face and eyes were covered in blood. My sister said to me, 'H., get up, I'm about to die.' I got up. My sister was lying face down on the floor. My sister told me her phone password and then to call an ambulance. During this time, I took the phone and called my uncle Bedrettin. Then I called the ambulance. Later, I saw that my sister had no strength left. She was wounded in the neck, and I tried to apply a compress there. Then my father came with a knife in his hand. I got scared and pulled back. My father stabbed my sister, who was lying on the floor, 2 more times in the back with the knife. Then he went out of the room and shouted, 'I have cleansed my honor.' Then I fainted. When I opened my eyes, my father Zülküf was still in the house. My father said, 'Get me out of this house immediately, before Bedrettin comes.' He specifically chose a time when my brothers were not there. I fainted again when I saw my mother. Later, my uncles had arrived. My father used to beat my mother and us constantly before. I am a complainant and I am filing a complaint because of this incident," she said.

After hearing the testimonies of other witnesses, the court panel decided to continue Zülküf Böçkün's detention and adjourned the hearing to November 20.

FAMILY MADE A STATEMENT

Making a press statement at the courthouse exit, Kadriye Böçkün's brother Kadir Kaya said, "We lost two of our loved ones. We are hurting. What hurts us more from now on is that she was accused regarding her honor. 109,664 pieces of evidence were examined by the court. It turned out that there was no romantic relationship anywhere, such as SMS, video, voice recording, or pictures in any of these. We are sad because we lost our loved ones, but we are happy because there was nothing related to honor," he said.