He had killed his grandmother: The reasoning for the life sentence given to Bedirhan Şener, son of Abdüllatif Şener, has been released

The reasoned decision for the life sentence handed down to Bedirhan Şener, the son of former minister Abdüllatif Şener, who held his grandmother hostage and then shot and killed her in Ankara, has been released.

According to the reasoning announced by the Ankara 1st High Criminal Court, on July 31, 2014, grandmother Leyla Çetiner and mother Berrin Şener went to Bedirhan Şener's home to visit him. At that time, it was stated that Abdüllatif Şener was parking his vehicle outside the apartment building.

The reasoning explained that Çetiner and Berrin Şener rang the doorbell, and as soon as Bedirhan Şener opened the door, he began firing with a weapon belonging to his father. It was noted that mother Berrin Şener quickly moved away from the door, while Leyla Çetiner became the target of the bullets and lost her life at the scene.

The decision, which also referred to the reports of the Council of Forensic Medicine, stated that 9 bullets hit Çetiner's body and that she died due to "internal and external bleeding resulting from damage to internal organs and major blood vessels, along with fractures to the skull vault, base, and skeletal system due to firearm projectile injuries."

The reasoning also addressed the defense arguments made by the defendant's lawyers during the trial, claiming that Bedirhan Şener was not of sound mind and therefore lacked criminal liability; it was stated that reports obtained from the Council of Forensic Medicine determined that Şener had full criminal responsibility.

The decision emphasized that Şener did not suffer from any mental illness or intellectual disability that would eliminate or reduce his ability to direct his behavior at the time of the crime, stating: "It is understood from the examination of the judicial file that no medical findings or documents were found to indicate that the defendant was in a state of mental impairment that would eliminate or reduce his ability to comprehend the legal meaning and consequences of his actions and to direct his behavior at the time he committed the aforementioned crime."

"THE DEFENDANT HAD FULL CRIMINAL LIABILITY AT THE TIME OF THE CRIME"

The following assessments were made in the decision, which stated that Şener committed the murder intentionally:

"It has been determined that the death occurred because defendant Şener fired a pistol at the victim's body from a very close range, causing the bullets to strike Çetiner's vital areas, and in this state, the defendant's intent in the act of killing the victim was 'direct intent'.

Although the defendant and his defense attorneys argued that the defendant did not have the intent to kill his grandmother, that the shooting actions were carried out into empty space, and that he did not know the person he was shooting was his grandmother due to a mental disorder he was under the influence of at the time of the incident, as will be established by the reports in the file, it has been determined that the defendant intentionally carried out the act of 'intentional killing of a relative from the upper lineage' against the victim, when considering the defendant's full criminal liability at the time of the crime, his confession that he fired the shots, the victim's statements, and all expert reports in the file as a whole."

Furthermore, the reasoning touched upon the public lawsuit filed on the allegation that Şener attempted to kill his mother, Berrin Şener. However, it was stated that he was acquitted of this charge based on the principle of "the defendant benefits from doubt" because there was no "concrete, definitive, and convincing evidence" that he targeted his mother.

In conclusion, it was stated that Bedirhan Şener was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of "intentional killing of a relative from the upper lineage" for shooting and killing his grandmother Leyla Çetiner, and also to 1 year and 8 months in prison for the crime of "unauthorized possession of a weapon."