A curious coincidence for Cem Garipoğlu: The exhumation of Garipoğlu's grave on October 3 and his obsession with the number '3'

The Münevver Karabulut murder has left a mark on the collective memory of society as an event that became a symbol in cases of violence against women in Turkey's recent history.

Münevver was murdered by her boyfriend, Cem Garipoğlu, on March 3, 2009, at the age of 17, in a villa in Bahçeşehir, Istanbul. Garipoğlu was surrendered to the police by his lawyer 197 days after the murder, on September 17, 2009, and it was announced that he was found dead in his cell at the Silivri No. 5 L-Type Closed Prison on October 10, 2014.

The body of Cem Garipoğlu, who was alleged to have committed suicide in prison, was sent to the Council of Forensic Medicine. Following the autopsy, the report dated October 12, 2014, stated that the cause of death was "mechanical asphyxia due to the closure of the mouth and nose caused by a bag placed over the head and the application of a ligature to the neck." While the general public did not believe that Garipoğlu had committed suicide, the belief that he had been smuggled abroad by his family began to spread.

THE REQUEST WAS REJECTED IN 2022

According to the report by Mustafa Şekeroğlu from Habertürk, Süreyya Karabulut, the father of Münevver Karabulut, who claimed that Garipoğlu did not commit suicide in prison but escaped, filed his first criminal complaint in July 2022 through his lawyer, Rezan Epözdemir. The initial application was rejected by the prosecutor's office, which concluded that there were no grounds for prosecution.

The prosecutor's office, which rejected the request to exhume Cem Garipoğlu's grave, stated that an examination conducted by the Biology Department of the Council of Forensic Medicine showed a 99.99 percent match between the DNA profile obtained from the deceased and the DNA samples taken from Cem Garipoğlu's mother and father. Following the decision, lawyer Rezan Epözdemir appealed the rejection and filed a petition. The higher court rejected the appeal filed by Epözdemir 3 months ago, refusing to allow the exhumation of Cem Garipoğlu's grave and issuing a decision of non-prosecution.

Following the rejections, father Süreyya Karabulut took the complaint to the Ministry of Justice through his lawyer. In the application, he stated that two courts had issued rejection decisions and that they were appealing these decisions, requesting the exhumation of Cem Garipoğlu's grave. The Ministry of Justice rejected the request for the exhumation of Cem Garipoğlu's grave, which father Süreyya Karabulut had demanded in his complaint petition. The investigation continued. The Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office decided to exhume Cem Garipoğlu's grave after many years. The prosecutor's office sent an instruction letter to the Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and requested that the grave be opened on October 3.

The Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office also issued instructions regarding the day the grave will be opened, stating that "one of the relatives or neighbors of the deceased must be present at the cemetery for identification purposes" and that "a crime scene investigation team or experts in these matters must be present at the cemetery for video and photography recording."

CEM GARİPOĞLU AND THE '3' OBSESSION

With the date for the exhumation of Cem Garipoğlu's grave set, an interesting coincidence also drew attention. Cem's obsession with the number 3 had emerged in his MSN chats with Münevver. In an MSN conversation between Cem and Münevver on February 5, 2009, Cem Garipoğlu writes that he will go to Switzerland for 3 days in the middle of March.

Münevver says, "March is the month of my birthday." Upon this, Cem says, "Yes, March 3." Surprised by this, Münevver states that her birthday is March 7 and writes to Cem, "His mind is still on 3, he even stayed behind to go to Switzerland, it's going 3 3 3."

Cem, who was mentioned in the chat for his obsession with the number 3, murdered Münevver on March 3. He also named a backup file in the MSN records found on his computer "333". The exhumation of Cem Garipoğlu's grave also coincided with the date of October 3.

News Source: 12punto