13.11.2026 23:10
The unsolved murder of a foreign national woman who was shot in the head in the Tatvan district of Bitlis on May 31, 2006, was solved 20 years later by JASAT teams. It was determined that the DNA in a cigarette butt taken from the scene of an accident that occurred in the area on the night of the incident matched a suspect's 2011 file. Two of the 9 suspects were arrested, and an arrest warrant was issued for a suspect determined to be in Georgia.
In the Tatvan district of Bitlis, the murder of a woman who was shot dead on May 31, 2006, and which had remained unsolved for 20 years, was solved as a result of work carried out by JASAT teams. Nine suspects linked to the incident were taken into custody, while 2 of the suspects were arrested.
FILE REOPENED 20 YEARS LATER
Under the coordination of the Tatvan Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, a new investigation was initiated by JASAT teams of the Tatvan District Gendarmerie Command to solve the unsolved murder that occurred in 2006. Existing evidence regarding the incident in which a foreign national woman whose identity had not yet been determined was shot in the head and killed at the Agah Burnu location of Adabağ village was re-examined in detail.
Within the scope of the project-based work, HTS and base station records belonging to the suspects were reevaluated, while crime scene investigations, existing evidence and contradictions in statements were also scrutinized. Investigations determined that the victim, identified as a prostitute, worked with individuals named F.Y. and Z.T., who were found to have been trafficking women at the time, and had a relationship with M.F.A., who was serving as a doctor in Ahlat.
During the investigation, it was determined that at around 00:30 on May 31, 2006, when the murder was committed, a vehicle with license plate 21 EG 239 crashed at a point near the area where the body was found. It was determined that at the time the vehicle carrying M.Ö., who was working as a health officer at Ahlat State Hospital at the time, and doctor M.F.A. crashed, HTS and base station records belonging to suspect Z.T. were also in the same area.
DNA FROM CIGARETTE BUTT MATCHED
On the other hand, it was determined that the DNA sample from one of the cigarette butts collected by Crime Scene Investigation teams at the crash site matched the DNA sample related to the sexual assault incident in which Z.T. was involved in the Kızıltepe district of Mardin in 2011.
Within the scope of the investigation, proceedings were initiated against 9 suspects who were assessed to have participated in the murder and to have concealed the crime despite having knowledge about how the incident was carried out and about the perpetrators.
ONE SUSPECT IS IN GEORGIA
In operations organized on November 6, 2026, suspects T.A. was caught in Amasya, M.Ö. in Bursa, A.G. in Antalya, and M.F.A., B.U., F.G., F.Y., B.U. and S.A. in Bitlis. Searches were conducted at the residences of the suspects.
On November 9, M.F.A. and B.U., two of the 9 suspects referred to the Tatvan Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, were released under judicial control conditions. M.Ö. and F.Y. were arrested and sent to the Ahlat T-Type Closed Penal Institution.
Upon determination that Z.T., stated to be one of the perpetrators of the incident, was in Georgia, an arrest warrant was issued for him on the charge of intentional homicide. It was reported that a request would also be made for the issuance of a red notice for the suspect.