He was released after stabbing his wife 28 times: The Court of Cassation has made its decision

The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation has accepted the appeal against the acquittal verdict issued by the İzmir 10th High Criminal Court regarding the defendant husband, A.P., who was tried in connection with the 2016 discovery of Rüya Polat, who was found stabbed to death in her home.

TWO MEMBERS FILED A DISSENTING OPINION

The ruling pointed out that intimate photos of the victim's former boyfriend were found on a hard drive connected to the television in the house, and noted that the defendant had previously threatened this individual.

The ruling, which also mentioned that no hostility between the victim and anyone else had been identified, stated the following:

"It is established that the defendant, upon seeing the photos of the victim's former lover on the hard drive connected to the television on the day of the incident, entered into a fit of jealousy, or in order to inherit the wealthy victim's estate, first suffocated the victim by pressing a pillow to her face and then stabbed her 28 times; that he rummaged through the entire house to make the incident look like a burglary, left the house in a panic leaving the television and lights on while putting the knife used in the crime into a bag; that he defecated in his pants due to the excitement of the event before leaving the house, put his underwear in a bag and threw it out the window; that he threw the murder weapon into the sea while on the ferry; and that after spending some time with his family, he sent messages to his wife to create evidence and called a locksmith to the house to create witnesses. Therefore, it was found to be against the law to decide on his acquittal with a legal and inappropriate justification instead of convicting the defendant for the crime of qualified intentional homicide with which he was charged."

Despite the dissenting opinion of two members, the Chamber overturned the decision with the vote of three members, ruling that the defendant should be convicted of qualified intentional homicide.

'A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO LIFE MUST BE PROTECTED'

The victim's lawyer, Sibel Önder, told an AA reporter that their legal struggle for Rüya Polat was found justified by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation.

Stating that legal regulations that ensure the protection of women and are preventive must be developed and that laws must be strongly enforced, Önder said, "Femicides should not be legitimized, and there should be no gender-based negligence. A woman's right to life must be protected."

WHAT HAPPENED?

On April 9, 2016, in the Buca district of İzmir, Rüya Polat was found in her home stabbed 28 times. Her husband, A.P., who was in prison for another matter and was determined to have been out on leave at the time of the incident, was detained in connection with the murder.

A.P., who argued that he had no involvement in his wife's murder, was released to be tried without arrest and was tried by the 10th High Criminal Court on charges of "qualified intentional homicide."

In its assessment after the trial, the court stated that the evidence against the defendant had been clarified and that there was no evidence sufficient and convincing for a conviction beyond the suspicion that the defendant committed the crime, and included the following statements in its decision:

"Considering that the victim and the defendant sent affectionate messages to each other before the incident, that there was no reason between the victim and the defendant that would necessitate murder, that the victim and the defendant went out for entertainment together the night before the incident, that the victim and the defendant returned home in an intimate manner after the defendant took the victim, who had fallen ill, to the hospital on the morning of the incident, and that it could not be determined that the death occurred before the time the defendant left the house, it has been decided to acquit the defendant of the charged crime."

The victim's family took the case to the appellate court, and the 4th Criminal Chamber of the İzmir Regional Court of Justice found the decision to be in accordance with the law. However, the prosecutor and the family appealed this decision to the Court of Cassation.

On the other hand, it was learned that Polat's mother had also been stabbed to death 28 years ago.