Statements of 2 suspects arrested in the Minguzzi murder investigation: 'We said it's a shame'

In his statement, A.Ö., one of the children dragged into the crime, said that he did not know Minguzzi and that no one helped the suspect B.B.

A.Ö. stated, "I did not see a knife on B.B. or the other children that day. After the punching incident, two friends took Minguzzi and led him away. At that stage, shopkeepers were trying to calm B.B. down and move him away.

Someone even said, 'Come sit down, let us buy you tea.' B.B. was telling the man holding him, 'Let me go, I'm going.' B.B. suddenly started running. Because there was a wall in front of me, I did not see the moment of the stabbing. I did not see anyone kicking Minguzzi on the ground," he said.

Stating that he met M.A.D. and U.B. after leaving the market, A.Ö. explained the following in his statement:

"B.B. was not with them. I said, 'I'm going home,' and they said, 'Okay, let's go home too.' There is a parking lot near the PTT at the entrance of the market. We saw B.B. waiting for us there. We said we were going home, and he said, 'Okay then, I'll go home too.' Then the 4 of us went to the Metrobus. I bought a bagel, and the 3 of them, including B.B., had gone upstairs.

While I was going to join them, B.B. was describing the stabbing motion with his hand. They stopped when I arrived. I was going to go play billiards with B.B., and we separated from the other individuals. My father called and said, 'A child was stabbed in Kadıköy, where are you?' I said, 'I'm close to home, I'm coming.' I definitely did not see the argument in the park. I did not help anyone with their crime.

I did not see a knife in B.B.'s hand. While I was running in the market, I took off my jacket and gave it to U.B. to put in a bag. I may have run behind B.B., but I neither saw a knife in his hand nor did I have any knowledge that he would do anything. I learned that Minguzzi had been stabbed when my father told me. I am innocent."

"IT'S A SHAME, YOU ARE A CHILD AND THE OTHER PARTY IS A CHILD"

The other child dragged into the crime, M.A.D., said in his statement that he did not see B.B. take a knife from the stall, but explained that he saw B.B. strike Minguzzi in the leg twice and in the chest 2-3 times with a knife a little ahead of them.

Stating that U.B. kicked Minguzzi, who had fallen to the ground, M.A.D. continued as follows:

"I did not see any knife on Minguzzi. He was already standing with his back turned before the incident. I was shocked and uneasy due to the impact of the event. It is clearly visible in the camera footage that we did not have a knife. I did not say anything to encourage B.B. in any way. I did not show an inciting or supportive attitude. Before that, I had told him, 'Forget it, let's get out of here.' I even calmed him down. There were a lot of market shopkeepers. They couldn't stop B.B. either.

Afterwards, when I and A.Ö. were leaving the market, U.B. came to us. Before reaching the Metrobus stop, B.B. came to us. We did not communicate about meeting with him, we did not talk on the phone.

B.B. came to us by going around the back. There was no knife with B.B.; it is already visible in the camera footage that he threw the knife. I and A.Ö. said to B.B., 'Why did you do such a thing? It's a shame, you are a child and the other party is a child.' He did not answer. B.B. was in a normal state; I did not see any sadness or panic."

Stating that B.B. asked them while on the Metrobus, "I stabbed him. Will anything happen, what should I do?", M.A.D. argued that they were in shock from the incident, that their boarding the Metrobus together was not planned, and that they got off at the same place because it was the metro station closest to their homes.

M.A.D. said he did not help anyone, stating, "The incident was not planned. It is obvious that I was not involved in anything. I am still under the influence of the event. I don't know why these things happened to me for no reason. My only crime was being there that day," he said.

The judges ruled for the arrest of both suspects, stating that after B.B.'s action, all suspects fled the scene and met up afterwards, talked about the incident, and that there was a description of how the act took place using hand and arm gestures, and that the evidence had not been fully collected and there was a suspicion of evidence tampering.

THE INCIDENT

An argument broke out between Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, who went to the market in Hasanpaşa Neighborhood on January 24 to buy skateboard equipment with his friends, and B.B. and U.B.; Minguzzi, who wanted to leave the market, was stabbed by B.B., and U.B. kicked Minguzzi, who had fallen to the ground.

While the seriously injured Minguzzi was taken to the hospital, the 2 fleeing suspects were caught and arrested.

Minguzzi was taken to the intensive care unit at the hospital but passed away on February 9.

As a result of the investigation conducted by the Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, a lawsuit was filed against U.B., who kicked Minguzzi, and B.B., who stabbed him, with a request for prison sentences of 18 to 24 years each for the crime of "intentional killing of a child."

In the expert report prepared regarding the footage of the incident sent to the Anatolian 2nd Juvenile High Criminal Court, where the trial is ongoing, there were findings regarding the presence of two other suspects with B.B. and U.B. before and after Minguzzi was stabbed.

As a result of the work carried out by the Public Security Branch teams, the suspects M.A.D. and A.Ö., who are under the age of 18, were detained and referred to the courthouse.

The 2 suspects, who were brought before the prosecutor, were sent to the duty magistrate's court with a request for their arrest on the charge of "aiding in intentional killing by design" after their statements were taken.

News Source: AA