New expert report on the suspicious death of Rojin Kabaiş

The Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating the death of Rojin Kabaiş, requested the preparation of an expert report on whether there was a possibility of drifting in the lake from the shore of the university campus, where Rojin was said to have gone missing, to the Mollakasım neighborhood, where she was found dead.

Following this, a report was prepared by the Department of Medical Sciences of the Karadeniz Technical University Institute of Forensic Sciences.

In the conclusion section of the report, which bears the signatures of 6 experts from the faculties of engineering, science, marine sciences, and medicine, it was stated that the current scheme (eddies) of Lake Van and especially the Erciş Bay, and the associated probable current directions, were examined.

The report stated, "It is highly probable that an object (lifeless body, free-floating clothing) entering the lake from the Van shores and having no movement control mechanism would first be transported along the shore in the direction of Erciş as of September 27, and if it had not been caught in any underwater rock cavity or rock fill, it would then have moved towards the Van shores or parallel to the Çarpanak Cape/Island in a westerly direction due to transport from the shore and currents turning back to the shore, and then headed towards the center of the lake, passing to the north of the island and being transported to the cape or the coastal areas to its north by currents outside the bay."

The report, which also included assessments regarding Rojin Kabaiş's headscarf and the missing slippers, stated that it is a possible situation under normal conditions for the headscarf and bonnet, produced using low-density synthetic yarn, to detach from the head after the body enters the water and, after separating, to float freely on the water surface and move faster than the body due to the effect of currents and wind, and to be transported to different points and the shore than the body.

The report included the following statements:

"If there is no other finding, it has been assessed that Rojin Kabaiş could have been drifted by natural conditions (currents) within Lake Van from the place where she was last seen to the place where her lifeless body was last seen, and the reason for the discovery of her belongings and her lifeless body at this distance could be the effect of drifting with currents and wind, which varies according to the state of suspension in water and surfacing of bodies and belongings with different densities and masses. Plastic materials with lower density than the density of water can stay on the water. It is highly probable that the slipper made of plastic material came off the foot while on the shore or in shallow water and moved separately from the body within the lake. These materials may have been washed ashore by wave action on the near shore, or they may have been drifted much faster than the body from the shore to open water areas and central eddy areas by the land breeze blowing from the cooling land towards the lake in the evening hours (this is a meteorological situation valid for all water areas)."

The report, which included information that the wind was mostly from land to lake, an easterly (90-160 degrees) wind, during the first days of the incident, the period of September 27-30, 2024, showed that slippers and similar materials were under the influence of wind transport from the shore to the open sea, stated, "If the slippers were drifted towards the open sea, in this case, there is also a high probability of them being transported to very distant parts and distant shores of the lake by different eddies and currents. Under these durations and conditions, it is assessed that it is not possible to determine the probable areas where the slippers, which were identified in camera footage as being on her feet at the time she went missing, could have drifted around Lake Van, and that there is a possibility that the slippers could be found anywhere in the lake."

The report, which included information that in cases of drowning in water, a drowning person usually sinks to the bottom first and then surfaces as a result of decay and gas accumulation in periods varying depending on various factors such as water temperature, depth, pollution, the body structure of the corpse, the clothes on it, the last meal eaten, and the cause of death, recorded the following:

"The corpse is typically found in a face-down position, with the head and extremities hanging downwards in the water, and the back mostly exposed above the water surface. The position of a corpse that remains in this state for a while can change significantly due to the effect of the current direction, speed, structure (biological, chemical), wave movements, wind direction, intensity, air-water temperature, and other environmental factors of the water where the drowning incident occurred. These factors affect how the corpse reaches the shore or whether it will be found in a different position. The corpse of the drowned person may wash ashore face-down, face-up, or at an angle depending on the existing conditions of the water. In such cases where multiple variables are effective, even if the places where the corpse is likely to drift with the current can be revealed, it is not seen as very likely as it would require a very complex formulation to calculate the exact position the corpse will take during drifting and while washing ashore. It is the board report that expresses the opinion that it is possible for the corpse to reach the shore face-down or face-up under these durations and conditions in the current case."