Life sentences sought for 4 defendants in Narin Güran murder case

The indictment regarding the murder of Narin Güran in Diyarbakır has been prepared, and the requested sentences for the suspects have been announced.

The indictment prepared regarding the murder of 8-year-old Narin Güran in Diyarbakır, which seeks aggravated life imprisonment for uncle Salim, mother Yüksel, brother Enes Güran, and neighbor Nevzat Bahtiyar on the charge of "intentional killing of a child as accomplices," includes the contradictory statements of the suspects.

In the 12-page indictment prepared by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the murder of Narin Güran, who went missing on August 21 in Tavşantepe Neighborhood of the central Bağlar district and whose lifeless body was found in Eğertutmaz Creek on September 8, it was stated that an examination of the mobile phone of the detained suspect Salim Güran revealed that WhatsApp data and call history for the day Narin went missing had been deleted.

The indictment states that in the program on Salim Güran's phone that records voice calls—which he claimed to have installed himself—some records identified in HTS (Historical Traffic Search) logs were deleted, and only some call contents were found. The following information was included:

"In the examination of the call records, it was determined that in the calls he made on August 21, he stated the time Narin went missing as 15:00 in his initial calls, but in later calls, he pushed this time to 17:00-17:30."

The indictment includes the following statements from the detained suspect Nevzat Bahtiyar, who claimed to have been threatened by Salim Güran:

"I remember putting a stone on top of Narin's body when I left it by the side of the creek. I placed the sack containing the body at the base of a natural rock by the water and put a stone on it. Looking from the outside, it was not clear that there was anything there. Salim threatened me by saying, 'I killed Arif's daughter, and you will take this body and destroy it. Otherwise, I will kill you and your family.' On the day of the incident, I placed Narin's body into my own vehicle with the village headman Salim Güran. Salim, who took the blanket, drove off in his vehicle toward the cemetery, but I could not see exactly where he went. I pulled my vehicle toward my residence and stopped in front of it.

I got out of my vehicle and quickly emptied a sack containing construction materials in the courtyard of my residence, then got into my vehicle and placed Narin inside the sack with her head down, along with her bag and slippers. As far as I remember, Narin was wearing a black t-shirt, black shorts, and had a small bag hanging on her shoulder. Narin's body fit exactly into the sack I put it in. After placing her inside the sack, I quickly moved toward Eğertutmaz Creek.

I parked the vehicle at a short distance from the creek. I got out of the vehicle, took Narin, who was inside the sack, under my arm, and walked quickly toward the creek. During this time, I definitely did not drop the body. When I reached the edge of the creek, I wanted to close the mouth of the sack, but since there was no rope around or on me, I remembered the strap of the bag Narin had hanging on her shoulder when I put the body in the sack. Upon this, I took the bag off her shoulder and removed the strap.

I left the bag inside the sack and tied the sack with that strap. While placing the body, I definitely did not see any sharp or piercing tool wounds, bloodstains, or any injury that would disrupt the integrity of the body. I only saw a redness similar to a rope mark on the neck area behind Narin's right ear; also, while I was tying the sack, the lower part of one of Narin's legs, from the knee down, remained outside the sack.

I do not know why one of Narin's legs remained outside the sack. Since I wanted to leave the body immediately and go due to the shock of the event, I did not want to struggle any further. Later, after leaving the body in the sack in a natural hollow I found by the creek without doing any digging, I tried to camouflage the body with 3 large stones, and the body ended up in the water, but I definitely did not leave any brush on the body. This process of leaving the body took approximately half an hour. Afterward, I left the creek side and got into my vehicle."

The indictment included the following regarding the additional statement given by Nevzat Bahtiyar on September 21:

"The statement I gave on September 10 is true, but I want to clarify some points because I described them differently due to the heat of the moment and Salim Güran's threats. On August 21, around 15:08, I had called Salim Güran because of a water issue. Afterward, Salim called me to his side by shouting from the hill where Arif Güran's residence is located. When I went toward him, we entered Arif Güran's house together. When we entered the house, the doors of all rooms except one were closed.

I did not see Enes, Yüksel, Eren, and Muhammed Güran or anyone else inside the house. Since I did not hear any sound, I do not know if they were inside the rooms with closed doors. When we entered the house, Salim took me to one of the rooms on the left, and I saw Narin lying motionless on the floor. As far as I remember, there was a foam-like liquid in Narin's mouth. Salim threatened me by saying, 'I killed this girl because she saw that Yüksel and I were together.

Now you are my accomplice, you witnessed this event, therefore you will destroy this, otherwise I will have your son taken from the football school he attends and have him shot in the head. Destroy this, and afterward, I will give you 200 thousand liras.' Because he threatened me, I took part in the incident. We placed Narin between a blanket with Salim Güran. After putting her in the blanket, Salim Güran gave me the body. When I took the body in my arms and left the residence, I also took Narin's slippers that were in front of the door upon Salim's instruction and put them in the blanket, and I went down toward my residence to put them in my vehicle.

First, I put the body in my own barn through the window. Later, I pulled the sack that was in the barn over the body's head. Then I left the body in the floor mat area of the back seat of my vehicle. I gave the blanket to Salim, who was following me in his vehicle. Salim put the blanket in his own vehicle. He told me, 'If necessary, dismember the body and throw it into Eğertutmaz Creek.' I took the body toward Eğertutmaz Creek and left it at the place I indicated. One of Narin's legs remained outside the sack. I could not tie it because I did it in a hurry and panic. After the incident, I did not meet with Salim Güran by phone or in person."

Uncle Salim Güran gave suggestions to some suspects regarding the time they last saw Narin

The indictment, which states that there are contradictions in the statement given by Birsen Güran, who is under investigation, mentions that Birsen Güran stated that Narin came to them around 14:00 on the day of the incident, and that while she was talking to her brother, Salim Güran witnessed these conversations and suggested that they "say they saw Narin at 17:40."

In the indictment, it was stated that in the report of the Biology Specialization Department of the Diyarbakır Forensic Medicine Institute Group Presidency, approximately 91 swab samples taken from Narin Güran's body during the autopsy, the clothes and bag found on her, as well as the 3 rock fragments and pieces of wood found on her lifeless body were examined, and it was determined that the samples did not respond to DNA analysis studies.

In the report included in the indictment regarding the examinations made on some evidence sent to the Van Gendarmerie Criminal Laboratory, the following statements were included: "As a result of the examination of all samples taken from the place where Narin's lifeless body was found, no findings were encountered. As a result of the examination of the samples on the 5 blankets seized in Nevzat Bahtiyar's vehicle and during the judicial searches, no findings were encountered. It was determined that no findings were encountered as a result of the examination of the samples on the carpets, runner pieces, and carpet pieces taken from Narin's residence."

The indictment included the statements of the detained suspect Salim Güran, who claimed that "Nevzat is his fellow villager and friend, he did not see him at all between 15:00-16:00 on the day of the incident, they did not come together, he does not accept the statements against him, there is no relationship between him and Yüksel and Maşallah Güran, DNA samples might be found because the doors of the vehicle he used were always open, he deleted his WhatsApp records because he occasionally meets with sex workers, and he did not kill Narin."

It was included that the detained suspect brother Enes Güran stated in his testimony that they realized Narin was missing around 19:11, and that he had said in his initial statement that she went missing around 16:30, but that he had stated it incorrectly due to the shock of the event.

In the indictment, it was stated that Enes Güran claimed he went to the neighborhood grocery store on the evening of the incident to shop, but since the grocer stated that he was closed on the day of the incident, the suspect's statements did not reflect the truth; he claimed that the marks on his back could have occurred during the search efforts, the bruise on his eye could have been caused by corn cobs, and it was stated that the marks could be due to an impact given their shape and location, and that the marks might have occurred by him hitting himself out of anger, and he claimed that the bite mark on his arm occurred as a result of him biting himself out of sadness upon seeing his father crying, and that he definitely had no connection to the incident.

The indictment included that Narin's mother Yüksel Güran also stated in her testimony that she had no connection to her daughter's death, that she had no relationship with Salim Güran, and that she did not accept the accusations against her.

Family members held frequent meetings

The indictment stated that it was determined that family members held frequent meetings within the framework of patrol activities carried out by law enforcement officers in Tavşantepe Neighborhood.

The indictment, which stated that it was determined that Erhan and Barış Güran, who are also under investigation, installed security cameras in their residences after the incident, said the following:

"In the initial examination of the images obtained from the camera records, especially in Erhan Güran's residence, which were obtained in the search carried out with the participation of law enforcement officers, it was determined that family members came together frequently, especially at night, and although the camera records had audio features, the sounds were not understandable; considering the fact that images from some days could not be found, the device was sent to TÜBİTAK, and in the prepared report, it was determined that 'Clarification process regarding the sounds could not be performed, and only a portion of the deleted images could be recovered in pieces, and in the examination of the sent data by law enforcement, the audio recordings were generally not understandable and were not of a nature to guide the investigation.'"

It could not be determined whose the bite mark on Enes Güran's arm belonged to

In the indictment, the following information was shared regarding the final report prepared by the 1st Specialization Board of the Forensic Medicine Institute following the internal organ samples and pathological examinations taken after the body examination and autopsy procedure performed on Narin's lifeless body:

"The child's death occurred on August 21. It was unanimously opined that there was no medical evidence that the child was killed by any other traumatic effect other than being deprived of oxygen due to the closing of the mouth and nose and pressure on the neck, and that the child's death 'occurred due to being deprived of oxygen as a result of the closing of the mouth and nose and pressure on the neck.'"

The indictment, which stated that the samples taken from mother Yüksel Güran and the samples and photographs belonging to Narin were sent to the 2nd Specialization Board of the Forensic Medicine Institute for the exact determination of the bite marks on Enes Güran's arm, recorded the following:

"In the prepared report, it was understood that the soft tissue lesions described and identified on Enes Güran's right forearm were compatible with a time of occurrence of 3-6 days as of the date of examination by our board. Regarding the examination of the tooth and jaw structures belonging to Yüksel, Enes, and Narin, it was determined that a definitive distinction could not be made from a forensic medical perspective as to whether Enes was bitten by Yüksel or Narin, or by himself."