New development in 6 cold case murder files

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek made a statement regarding files that were re-examined under the coordination of the Department of Investigation of Unsolved Crimes, established within the Ministry of Justice. Gürlek announced that 6 cold case murders committed between 2005 and 2016 in Balıkesir, Denizli, Hatay, Istanbul, and Samsun have been solved.

According to the statement Gürlek made on his social media account, the files concerning the incidents in which Ali Sarıoğlu, Esra Aşık, Gültekin Yıldırım, Mehmet Ali Türkmen, Selbi Uyğur, and Yusuf Sayaner lost their lives were re-evaluated using modern technological capabilities.

It was stated that new evidence obtained through criminal investigations, DNA matching, HTS (Historical Traffic Search) and base station analyses, and retaken witness testimonies were taken into account in the files.

NEW EVIDENCE IN THE FILES

In the file of Esra Aşık, a child who lost her life in a house set on fire 21 years ago in Balıkesir, it was announced that the investigation into a suspect who had previously been issued a decision of non-prosecution was reopened, and a suspect was arrested following an operation.

In the file of Mehmet Ali Türkmen, who was killed at his workplace 20 years ago in Denizli, it was reported that two suspects, who were assessed to have committed the murder as a result of the evaluation of retaken witness statements and HTS records, were captured and arrested.

In the file of Selbi Uyğur, who went missing 14 years ago in Hatay, excavation work was carried out following confessions obtained. Gürlek noted that the human bones found were determined to belong to Uyğur as a result of the DNA examination conducted by the Council of Forensic Medicine, and that judicial proceedings regarding the incident have been initiated.

In the file of Gültekin Yıldırım, who was killed 12 years ago in Bayrampaşa, Istanbul, it was stated that biological findings at the crime scene matched a suspect after DNA comparisons made years later. It was announced that the suspect, who was captured after the findings were supported by HTS records, was arrested.

In the file of Yusuf Sayaner, who was killed 10 years ago in Fatih, Istanbul, it was stated that the suspect confessed to the crime within the scope of the re-conducted investigation and was arrested for the crime of "intentional killing."

In the file of Ali Sarıoğlu, who was killed 19 years ago in Samsun, it was reported that the source of a tip-off, which was assessed to have been intended to mislead the investigation, was identified years later. It was reported that four suspects identified through new witness statements and technical analyses were captured and arrested.

Minister Gürlek thanked the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices, police and gendarmerie organizations, the BTK (Information and Communication Technologies Authority), the Council of Forensic Medicine, criminal police laboratories, and expert witnesses who took part in solving the files.

Stating that they will continue to stand by the victim families, Gürlek said, "No murder will be forgotten, no evidence will be ignored, and no perpetrator will be able to escape justice by relying on the passage of time."