He murdered teacher Derya, then claimed 'I did not kill her brutally'

The final hearing of the case, held at the Mersin 1st High Criminal Court, was attended by the detained defendant Murat Okur, who worked as a mathematics teacher at a private tutoring center, via the SEGBİS video conferencing system from Alanya Prison. In addition to the lawyers for the parties, representatives from the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Mersin Bar Association's Women's Rights Center were present in the courtroom.

The public prosecutor reiterated their opinion, requesting that the defendant be punished for the crimes of 'intentional killing of a woman,' 'gaining benefit by unauthorized use of another person's bank or credit card,' and 'theft by taking advantage of a person's death.' Subsequently, the father and son of teacher Derya were given the floor and demanded that the defendant receive the maximum possible sentence.

Defendant Murat Okur was asked for his defense against the prosecutor's opinion. Claiming in his defense that he did not plan the incident, defendant Okur said, "If I had planned this incident brutally, I would have moved the body. No one would have found the body. If that were the case, I would have thrown the body into the sea or a well, and I would have been released. Why would I intentionally kill her? It was an incident that developed entirely on its own."

Upon these words from the defendant, the presiding judge reacted by saying, "You say you didn't act brutally, but if that's the case, why didn't you call an ambulance? You shouldn't have left the victim in that state. In this situation, we are left questioning your conscience."

HE WAS PLANNING TO GET MARRIED

Repeating that the incident occurred entirely as a result of an argument, defendant Okur said, "We were planning to get married with Derya. I am very sorry, I apologize to her family."

The court panel sentenced the defendant to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'intentional killing of a woman,' 2 years and 8 months for the crime of 'gaining benefit by unauthorized use of another person's bank or credit card,' and 3 years in prison for the crime of 'theft by taking advantage of a person's death.'

After mathematics teacher Derya Demir, a mother of two living in the Ayaş neighborhood of Erdemli district, could not be reached on August 19, 2024, her relatives had notified the gendarmerie. On August 25, Demir was found stabbed to death in a summer apartment across from her father's house. Her colleague, Murat Okur, who was identified as the murder suspect, was caught and detained in Konya, and subsequently arrested. It was also determined that after the murder, the defendant had taken teacher Derya's bag and made purchases with her bank cards.

News Source: İHA