21.08.2025 01:38
Fehmi Demirkollu, a contracted soldier on trial for the death of his girlfriend Yağmur Çoban, who was shot in the head, denied the allegations and claimed that the incident was a suicide. Demirkollu stated that he saw the gun in Çoban's hand and argued that he did not kill her.
The contracted soldier Fehmi Demirkollu (27), who is being tried in custody with a request for aggravated life imprisonment regarding the death of his girlfriend Yağmur Çoban (17), who was shot in the head in Kayseri, claimed that the incident was a suicide. Demirkollu stated, "Since I was a contracted soldier, the state did not provide me with a weapon. I had bought a gun because I had a passion for firearms. The trigger safety of the gun was not working. I got out of the car. I saw the grip of the gun in Yağmur's hand. She was holding her left hand to her chin. I called out 'Yağmur.' She panicked. I did not kill her," he said.
The incident occurred on January 19 at around 03:00 in the Şeker neighborhood of Kocasinan district. Yağmur Çoban and her boyfriend, contracted soldier Fehmi Demirkollu, met to talk. During this time, Çoban was shot in the head with an unlicensed gun belonging to Demirkollu. Upon Demirkollu's notification, police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene. In the initial examination by the teams, it was determined that Yağmur Çoban had lost her life.
Fehmi Demirkollu stated that his girlfriend Yağmur took his unlicensed gun, got out of the car, and committed suicide. After the Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office expanded the investigation, Demirkollu was taken into custody on suspicion of murder and was arrested by the court he was brought before.
HIS DEFENSE WAS NOT CREDIBLE
An indictment was prepared as part of the investigation conducted by the Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. In the indictment, the statements of the deceased Çoban's mother regarding the events before the incident, the message records between the victim and the suspect, the fact that the weapon used in the act was an unlicensed gun belonging to the suspect, the victim being under 18 years old, and the impossibility of her knowing how to use a gun were all evaluated together. It was emphasized that the suspect's defense was not credible, and it was assessed that he killed Yağmur Çoban as a result of jealousy and gave the impression of suicide. Fehmi Demirkollu was requested to be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'intentional killing of a woman and a child' and 1 to 3 years in prison for the crime of 'possessing an unlicensed firearm.'
TRIAL BEGINS
In the first hearing of the trial held at the Kayseri 8th High Criminal Court, the detained defendant Fehmi Demirkollu, Yağmur Çoban's mother Tuba Yağmur, and the lawyers of both parties were present. Lawyers from the Ministry of Family and Social Services also intervened in the case. The defendant Fehmi Demirkollu, who claims he is innocent, stated, "My unlicensed gun was in the front right passenger part of the vehicle. Since I was a contracted soldier, the state did not provide me with a weapon. I had bought a gun because I had a passion for firearms. The trigger safety of the gun was not working. I got out of the car. I saw the grip of the gun in Yağmur's hand. She was holding her left hand to her chin. I called out 'Yağmur.' She panicked. Since there was a distance of 2-3 steps between us, I wanted to reach out my hand to Yağmur's left side and turn the barrel towards the ground. I was injured by my right hand. I have a bullet entry and exit mark on my hand. I called the ambulance 1-2 minutes after the incident. The reason I called a bit late was that my hand was bleeding, so I couldn't press the buttons. I did not kill her. I am innocent. I want my release," he said.
MOTHER: I WANT HIM TO RECEIVE THE HEAVIEST PUNISHMENT
Yağmur Çoban's mother Tuba Yağmur stated, "I knew about their relationship for 2 years. My daughter wanted to break up. The name 'Fehmi' was written in front of our house. My daughter's mental state was perfectly normal, and she was not a child prone to suicide. She left the house saying, 'Mom, I will give this ring to the dishonorable one and come in 5 minutes.' This was the last time we spoke face to face. I called her on the phone and told her to come home. The defendant heard what I said about him on the phone. My daughter called me again, saying, 'Mom, I can't control Fehmi.' After a while, the defendant called me, saying, 'Sister, Yağmur, sister, Yağmur.' I did not hear a gunshot on the phone. When I first went to the scene, my daughter was lying on the ground in a pool of blood and was still alive. I begged, 'Don't die, my daughter.' I am a complainant; I want him to receive the heaviest punishment," she expressed.
The court board decided to continue the detention of the defendant Fehmi Demirkollu and postponed the hearing to address the deficiencies.
MOTHER MADE A PRESS STATEMENT
Tuba Yağmur, the mother of Yağmur Çoban, who was shot in the head, made a press statement in front of the courthouse after the first hearing of the trial of her arrested boyfriend Fehmi Demirkollu. Some women's associations also supported Tuba Yağmur. Speaking in front of a banner that read, "I lost one child. I have a thousand children. My Yağmur will not be the first or the last. Justice must be served. Hear my voice, oh Turkey. We are not afraid. We do not remain silent. We are ready; justice is with us," mother Yağmur said, "We are here for my daughter Yağmur Çoban, who was killed on January 19. We are here for my daughter's justice. The person is trying to defend himself by claiming that it was a suicide. I am here for my daughter's justice in every way; I will not be broken. No matter what the other side says or does, I will ensure my child's justice until the end, and I will never give up on this case," she stated.
"HE IS WAITING FOR MY DAUGHTER TO DIE"
Tuba Yağmur, who also claimed that her daughter wanted to break up with her boyfriend, stated, "He calls her down saying, 'She wants to break up.' My daughter wanted to break up every time, but the threats from the other side and their coming to our house did not stop. When he did not come himself, he was constantly sending his brother. Writing her name on the asphalt, following my daughter was a constant threat. Finally, on January 19, around 01:00 at night, he came to my house and called my daughter down. When my daughter went down at that time, he took her. They disappeared for 45 minutes. Later, he brought my daughter back in front of the house. I called my daughter and told her to come home. My daughter said, 'I will be back in 5 minutes.' When I called again, she cried and said, 'Mom, Fehmi heard what you said; I can't control Fehmi.' Five minutes later, the phone rang again. That monster killed my daughter. He left her on the side of the asphalt as if he were throwing away a dead animal, waiting for my daughter to die," she expressed.
"IT IS DEFINITELY NOT A SUICIDE CASE"
Pointing to the reports in the file, Yağmur stated, "In the autopsy and ballistic reports, there are gunpowder traces on her hand, blood traces, and blood traces were found on the steering wheel, gear lever, and the right rear and front bumpers.
It has been confirmed that he is 90% guilty in the ballistic reports, but he still denies it. He kills my daughter that day and calls me. When he called me 'Sister Yağmur', I was getting into the car. When I quickly went to my daughter, she was lying on the ground in a pool of blood. She was still alive. The ambulance arrived 45 minutes later. If the ambulance had come earlier, maybe my daughter would be alive right now. It is time to confront him. I don't know how long the trial will take. But I will never give up on this struggle. I am here to ensure that the monster receives the heaviest punishment. It is definitely not a suicide case. My daughter was brutally murdered by Fehmi Demirkollu," she said.
"I WILL DO EVERYTHING FOR MY DAUGHTER"
The mother, Tuba Yağmur, who also claims to have been threatened, said, "They have strong connections. It doesn't matter at all. I have God above. I will do everything for my daughter. I will never give up my struggle. I have another daughter. Right now, I am being threatened online. Constantly receiving threatening messages and videos through my TikTok account. The account has already been closed. It doesn't matter at all. I have another daughter. I will do everything to protect her, but as you can see, for my Yağmur, she was only 17 years old. She was so young. She was a senior in high school and her dream was to open a shop and advance her career. But they took that away from my child. My child just wanted to break free. He has a schizophrenic personality. Constant threats, insults, and degrading words towards my daughter. For 3 years, my child fought against him. For the last year, my daughter was constantly under threat," she said.