A new phase has been reached years later in the investigation into the murder of Turgut Taşdemir, who lost his life in an armed attack in front of a school in Bursa in 2008. Fingerprints taken from the door of the stolen car stated to have been used in the incident, which could not be identified at the time, were determined to belong to Mehmet Akbalık following a new examination.
In the indictment prepared by the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was assessed that Akbalık was the third person in the vehicle during the murder. The prosecution requested that a lawsuit be filed against Akbalık for "aiding and abetting intentional homicide," citing fingerprint evidence, telephone records, and suspect statements as evidence. It was stated that Akbalık did not accept the accusations.
TRACES IN STOLEN VEHICLE RE-EXAMINED
The incident occurred on July 2, 2008, in the Zekai Gümüşdiş neighborhood of the Osmangazi district. Taşdemir, a 39-year-old construction worker and father of two who was said to have migrated to Bursa from Muş due to a blood feud, lost his life after being struck by three bullets to the head fired from a car in front of Celal Bayar Primary School.
Following the attack, it was determined that the suspects fled in a car with the license plate 16 GA 454. The vehicle, which did not comply with the police's "stop" order, was pursued on the İzmir Road. While Yusuf Akbalık was caught after getting out of the vehicle, the other suspect escaped. It was later determined that the car, found abandoned in the Sülüklü area of the Görükle-İrfaniye village, was stolen and had fake license plates attached.
According to the file, it was assessed during the trial process regarding the murder that there was a third person in the car besides İlhan Kandemir and Yusuf Akbalık, but the identity of this person could not be determined. Two fingerprints taken from the inner surface of the left rear door of the car used in the incident could not be resolved with the technical capabilities of the time.
The prints were re-examined using the APFIS system, which has been in use since 2016. As a result of the comparison, it was determined that the fingerprints belonged to Mehmet Akbalık. This finding was added to the investigation file with a criminal report dated October 17, 2024.
The prosecution also examined records related to the telephone line assessed to have been used by Mehmet Akbalık. It was determined that the line, registered to his business partner Şerif Gözcü, received a signal from Bursa about a week before the incident and gave signals from base stations near the scene during the hours of the murder.
The investigation file included information that Taşdemir had also been subjected to an armed attack about eight months before he was killed. It was reported that on November 21, 2007, Taşdemir, who realized he was being followed while going to work on his bicycle, was fired upon from different points and went to a police station while wounded, escaping from the attackers. This attack was also assessed to be linked to the blood feud between the families.
News Source: 12punto
