Chilling testimony from father of two-month-old baby found dead

The indictment, prepared by the prosecutor's office and accepted by the Adana 14th High Criminal Court, stated that an autopsy performed by the Adana Forensic Medicine Group Presidency revealed the baby girl was found wrapped in a quilt, and that the baby's tissue was damaged while being separated from the quilt.

The indictment included the testimony of family physician F.D., who also served as a witness: "I spoke with the mother on the phone a week after the baby was born. I asked Ayşegül Talay to bring her baby in. I took a heel prick blood sample from the baby. During the examination, I detected developmental delay and neglect. I reported this situation to the District Health Directorate. Two weeks later, when the District Health Directorate requested that the baby's heel prick sample be taken again, I called Ayşegül Talay many times, but she did not answer the phone and did not bring the baby."

The indictment noted that a report prepared by a board at the Adana Dr. Ekrem Tok Mental Health and Diseases Hospital stated that "the defendant did not have a mental illness at the time of the crime and had full criminal liability."

"I COVERED HER WITH A BLANKET"

The baby's father, Suat Talay, stated the following in his testimony in the indictment:

"When we took the baby to the family health center, the doctor said the child had lost weight and needed to be bathed. When we returned home, we washed the baby's body with my wife because she had soiled herself. Later, I handed the baby to my wife to breastfeed.

Because I was tired, I slept on a quilt spread on the floor. I woke up around 06:00 in the morning when my wife said, 'What happened to the child?' I saw the child in a fetal position on the floor. I don't remember the exact distance of the electric heater.

When I picked the baby up, I realized she had stiffened. I then tried to perform CPR, but the baby was not breathing. When I realized the baby was dead, I covered her with a blanket. We stayed in the same house with the baby for two days. When the baby started to smell, we put her in a black bag so she wouldn't smell. We didn't tell anyone about the incident. Afterwards, I left the house with Ayşegül. When we returned home, I argued with Ayşegül and ran away from the house."

Testimony of the father whose 2-month-old baby was found dead in Adana: I put her in a bag so she wouldn't smell - Mother Ayşegül Talay, arrested on April 10, and father Suat Talay, arrested on April 17

Up to 25 years in prison requested for the defendants

The indictment noted that the defendant mother and father acted in complicity and caused the baby's death through negligence, stating the following:

"It was determined that during the baby's examination at the family health center, developmental delay and neglect were detected, this situation was reported to the District Health Directorate, and two weeks later, when the District Health Directorate requested the baby's heel prick sample, the family physician called mother Ayşegül Talay many times, but Talay did not answer the phones and did not take the baby to the family health center.

It was understood that the defendants left the baby next to the electric heater after washing her, that the baby remained there for a long time, that the mother and father were in a position to know that the baby staying in front of the electric heater for a long time would pose a danger to the baby's health, that in the ordinary course of life and general life experience, mother Ayşegül Talay's statement that she 'thought the baby was sleeping because she didn't wake up' does not reflect the truth and does not conform to reason or logic, that the defendants did not apply anywhere upon realizing the baby was dead, that they put the baby in a bag, and that the defendants did not fulfill their care obligations for the baby and caused the baby's death through negligence."

The indictment requested that the defendants be sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison each for the crime of 'intentional killing by omission' acting in complicity.

The trial of the detained defendants will begin in the coming days at the Adana 14th High Criminal Court.