Justice day for baby Sıla: Murder suspects appear before a judge for the first time!

The trial of 5 defendants regarding the death of 2-year-old Sıla Yeniçeri, who passed away one month after being hospitalized due to sexual abuse and physical assault in Tekirdağ, begins today. The mother of baby Sıla is also among the defendants.

The investigation into baby Sıla was completed by the Malkara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, and the summary of proceedings was sent to the Tekirdağ Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to initiate the case. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared two separate indictments for Bakiye Yeniçeri, Sanlı Ö., Kani A., as well as G.K. and K.A.

In the indictment, a total of 67 years of imprisonment was requested for the mother, Bakiye Yeniçeri, on charges of 'intentional killing by omission,' 'destruction, concealment, or alteration of evidence,' and 'violation of obligations arising from family law.' For Sanlı Ö., 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment was requested for 'failure to report and concealment of a crime,' while 28 years and 6 months of imprisonment was requested for Kani A., the father of the child K.A., on charges of 'child sexual abuse' and 'deprivation of liberty.'

The indictment prepared for the children dragged into crime, G.K. and K.A., was sent to the Tekirdağ 3rd High Criminal Court. In the indictment, a total of 66 years of imprisonment was requested for G.K. on charges of 'qualified sexual abuse of a child' and 'deprivation of liberty,' while for K.A., 48 years of imprisonment was requested for 'qualified sexual abuse' and 'deprivation of liberty,' along with an aggravated life sentence for 'intentional killing.'

TWO SEPARATE INDICTMENTS PREPARED

The two separate indictments prepared were consolidated at the Tekirdağ 2nd High Criminal Court.

The indictment noted that the forensic medical opinion prepared by the Istanbul 1st Forensic Medicine Specialized Board stated that baby Sıla Yeniçeri's death occurred as a result of intracranial hemorrhage due to blunt head trauma, and it was recorded that there was a causal link between the injury caused by the blunt head trauma and her death.

In the expert report prepared at Tekirdağ City Hospital, it was stated that she had been subjected to sexual abuse. It was expressed that there were bite marks on the baby's body and that these marks contained the DNA profile of K.A.

"I THREW THE BLOODY DIAPER IN THE TRASH SO NO ONE WOULD UNDERSTAND"

In her statement to the prosecutor's office, Bakiye Yeniçeri explained that she was in a religious marriage with Sanlı Ö. and had started living in his house two weeks before the incident. She stated that she worked as a hostess at a bar in Malkara between 4:00 PM and 2:00 AM, and while she was working, she left her children, Sıla and A.S.Y., with Sanlı Ö.'s close neighbor, Kani A., to look after them. 

Bakiye Yeniçeri, who said she saw blood on the diaper when she picked up Sıla from the neighbors on September 2, stated that she threw the diaper in the trash so no one would see it, and that she realized her daughter had been harmed but covered it up so that no one would know.

Explaining that she took Sıla to the hospital on September 9 after seeing her vomit, Yeniçeri stated that she left her children with Kani A.'s children when he was not around so that he would not get angry. She said that on September 6, she saw blood on Sıla's diaper and threw it in the trash, and later, thinking that Sıla's condition would worsen and fearing her family would be angry with her, she threw the diaper into a trash container elsewhere.

Stating that she told Sanlı she saw blood on Sıla's diaper, Yeniçeri said, "I asked if it could be something sexual. Sanlı replied, 'They are just children.' I suspected the children, but I felt sorry for them because I knew they were also growing up without a mother."

"I THOUGHT SILA COULD BE ABUSED AND BEATEN AGAIN, BUT I LEFT THE CHILD IN THE SAME PLACE BECAUSE I WAS FORCED TO WORK"

Bakiye Yeniçeri changed these statements at the Tekirdağ Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on November 12, claiming that she did not see blood on Sıla's diaper and that she had given her previous statements while in a poor psychological state.

Mother Yeniçeri stated, "I thought that as a result of Sıla being beaten and abused, she could be beaten and abused again, and could even die. However, because I was forced to work, I left my children with the Kanis."

"FAILED TO REPORT THE CRIME"

The indictment stated that baby Sıla's custody was held by her mother, Bakiye Yeniçeri, and noted: "As she held custody and was obligated to protect and care for the victim, her own child, in the ordinary course of life, this responsibility and duty were imposed upon her by law under Article 339 of the Turkish Civil Code, titled 'Scope of Custody,' which stipulates that 'Parents shall make and implement necessary decisions regarding the care and education of the child, keeping the child's best interests in mind.' Furthermore, according to Article 328 of the Turkish Civil Code, which states that 'The duty of care of the parents continues until the child reaches the age of majority,' the suspect's duty of care and protection toward the victim was to continue until the victim reached the age of majority. Despite all this, even though the victim was only a 2-year-old baby, the suspect left her with the suspect Kani and his children many times as described above. Although she knew the victim was beaten on 02/09/2024 and saw the marks of the beating on the victim's body, she left her at the residence of the suspect Kani and his children again on 05/09/2024. On this date, the victim was sexually abused by the suspect Kani and K.A. and G.K., who are also under investigation. Although the suspect realized this situation when she saw blood on the baby's diaper, she did not conduct any investigation or inquiry. According to her own statement, she destroyed strong evidence of sexual abuse by throwing the bloody diaper in the trash out of pity for those who committed the act, and furthermore, despite knowing her child had been abused, she failed to report a crime she understood and knew had been committed to the competent authorities."

"CAUSED THE BABY'S DEATH BY COVERING UP THE ABUSE"

The prepared indictment stated that mother Yeniçeri was guilty because she was obligated to protect the victim due to holding custody, yet instead of doing so, she attempted to cover up the abuse of the child whose bloody diaper she had found. It was noted that she failed to take any precautions or file a complaint despite being aware of the possibility that the abuse and the situation could continue, that she took the baby back to the environment where she was abused, and that she turned a blind eye to a crime committed against a child under the age of 15.

In the indictment, Kani A., the owner of the house where Sıla was left, for whom a 28-year and 6-month prison sentence is requested for the crimes of 'qualified sexual abuse of a child' and 'deprivation of liberty,' denied the accusations against him. 

Kani A. stated, "I never had any sexual or normal physical contact with Sıla or her sister. I have known Bakiye and her children for 2-3 weeks. I do not have any relationship with Bakiye. Bakiye constantly sent her children to my residence and left them with my son K.A."

"THE CHILDREN'S FATHER COMMITTED THE ABUSE"

The indictment stated, "In the evaluation regarding the suspect Kani A., although the suspect did not accept the accusations against him and stated that he did not have any sexual or normal contact with Sıla, it was determined that the DNA sample obtained from the nail samples taken from the victim was compatible with his own DNA according to the forensic medicine report. Therefore, it was assessed that there is sufficient evidence to prepare an indictment against the suspect for committing the crimes of sexual abuse against the victim and deprivation of liberty for sexual purposes by using force against a child while the victim was at his home on 05.09.2024."

"THEY ARE SLANDERING ME"

Sanlı Ö., who lived with Bakiye Yeniçeri in a religious marriage, also denied the accusations against him. Claiming that the children were often not at home when he arrived, Sanlı Ö. stated, "Bakiye's father and sisters are slandering me. They are slandering me because she does not give them money, because she takes care of herself, and because they cannot make her work to earn them money. 

Bakiye had previously left the children with a few families to look after them. Bakiye told me she saw blood on baby Sıla's diaper, but she did not say whether it was for sexual purposes or not."

The indictment included the following statement regarding Sanlı Ö.: "It is understood from the entire scope of the file that the suspect committed the crime of failing to report a crime committed against a child under the age of 15, as he did not report the information to the competent authorities despite the suspect Bakiye telling him she saw the victim Sıla's bloody diaper and stating that she had been sexually abused, a fact that anyone would know constitutes a crime."

"THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF THE AUNT"

Baby Sıla's aunt, Elif Akyüz, had filed a custody lawsuit shortly before the incident to gain custody of baby Sıla and her older sister. A short time after the investigation into the incident was launched, Aunt Akyüz lost her life after falling from the 3rd floor of the house where she lived to the ground.