Man who murdered his ex-wife with 16 stab wounds sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment

Zehra Gümüş, who was wounded in a knife attack by her ex-husband Arif Ergin on Gazi Street on September 28 last year, lost her life at the Hitit University Erol Olçok Training and Research Hospital, where she had been taken by medical teams after seeking refuge in a store. The murder suspect was caught by citizens while trying to flee the scene and was handed over to the police.

The final hearing of the case was held today at the Çorum 1st High Criminal Court. The defendant, Arif Ergin (49), who was being tried in custody for stabbing and killing his ex-wife Zehra Gümüş (44) 16 times, attended the hearing along with their children and the lawyers for both parties.

Reiterating his opinion during the hearing, the prosecutor requested that the defendant be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the crimes of "intentional killing of an ex-spouse" and "intentional killing of a woman."

In his defense during the hearing, defendant Arif Ergin claimed that his ex-wife wanted a divorce by citing various health problems, but that he learned she had a relationship with someone else during their marriage, and that he killed her because he saw her with another man on the day of the incident. Stating that he regretted the incident, Ergin said, "I reached this point due to fake illnesses and rumors. My children also know that my wife had a relationship with someone else. I am very sorry for putting my children in this situation. I regret the incident."

The court panel, which sentenced defendant Arif Ergin to aggravated life imprisonment for the crimes of "intentional killing of an ex-spouse" and "intentional killing of a woman," ruled that no unjust provocation reduction should be applied to the defendant.

News Source: 12punto