17.06.2025 15:33
The father who strangled his children, aged 10 and 13, to death in their beds in Kocaeli and left a letter behind stating, "I will no longer entrust you to the people of this bad world. I love you very much, so I entrust you to God; let me be the one to suffer," was found to have full criminal responsibility.
On March 23, 2023, a chilling incident occurred in the Körfez district of Kocaeli. Police teams stopped Murat R. (45) after noticing him wandering suspiciously in the streets during the night. The police went to the residence of the individual, who exhibited erratic behavior and made statements like, "I sent my children to heaven, I came here," in the Esentepe neighborhood.
HE STRANGLED HIS CHILDREN TO DEATH
During the investigation at Murat R.'s mother's house, the lifeless bodies of his siblings, Beril Yağmur (13) and Yunus Emre R. (10), were found. While Murat R. was taken into custody, the children's bodies were sent to the morgue. The autopsy revealed that the children had been strangled to death. Murat R., who was taken into custody, was arrested and sent to prison after a 5-month treatment at a mental health hospital.
HE LEFT THIS LETTER BEHIND
In his defense during the first hearing, the defendant stated that he did not remember the incident, that his psychology had deteriorated due to his wife's behavior towards him, and that they had experienced severe marital discord. In a letter he wrote after killing his children, the defendant expressed, "My angel children. I have no one else in this world but you. I grew up without both a mother and a father. I will never let anyone shame you. You are angels. I will no longer entrust you to the people of this bad world. I cannot live without you. I will never let you experience the painful days of being without a father. I was deceived; there were always financial disputes between your mother and me. Being separated from you feels like death to me. You will live in me as angels. Your loving father. I love you very much, and that is why I entrust you to God; let me suffer instead."
HE WAS FOUND TO HAVE FULL CRIMINAL CAPACITY
The trial related to the incident continued at the Kocaeli 4th High Criminal Court. The defendant could not attend the hearing due to the inability to establish a SEGBİS connection. The defendant's lawyer had previously objected to the report stating that his client had "full criminal capacity." In response to this objection, a new report was requested from the 4th Specialization Board of the Forensic Medicine Institution. However, the second report also stated that the defendant had full criminal capacity.
The hearing was postponed at the request of the lawyers for more time.