12.11.2026 10:36
In the murder of Turgut Taşdemir, a father of two children who was killed with 3 bullets in front of a school in Bursa in 2008 due to a blood feud, fingerprints taken from the door of the stolen car used in the escape, which could not be identified at the time, were found in a new examination conducted with the APFIS system to belong to Mehmet Akbalık. The prosecutor's office requested that a lawsuit be filed against Akbalık, who is considered to be the third person in the vehicle, on the charge of aiding intentional homicide. The suspect does not accept the accusations.
In the murder of Turgut Taşdemir, who was killed with 3 bullets in front of a school in Bursa due to a blood feud, fingerprints on the door of the stolen vehicle used in the incident were solved 18 years later. Through forensic examination, it was determined that the prints, whose identity could not be established at the time, belonged to Mehmet Akbalık. The Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office requested the punishment of Akbalık, who was considered to have aided the murder.
In the indictment prepared by the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was assessed that Mehmet Akbalık was the third person in the vehicle during the murder. The prosecutor's office, citing fingerprints, phone records, and suspect statements as evidence, requested that a case be filed against Akbalık on the charge of 'aiding intentional killing'. The suspect, however, did not accept the accusations.
The incident occurred on July 2, 2008, in the Zekai Gümüşdiş neighborhood of the Osmangazi district. Turgut Taşdemir, a 39-year-old construction worker and father of two who had migrated from Muş to Bursa due to a blood feud, lost his life when 3 bullets hit his head as a result of gunfire opened from a car in front of Celal Bayar Primary School.
After the murder, it was determined that the suspects fled in a car with license plate 16 GA 454. The vehicle, which did not comply with the police teams' 'stop' warning, was taken under pursuit on İzmir Road. While Yusuf Akbalık, who got out of the vehicle, was caught, the other suspect fled. Later, it was determined that the car, found abandoned in the Sülüklü area of the Görükle-İrfaniye village, was stolen and its plates were fake.
HE HAD ALSO BEEN THE TARGET OF AN ARMED ATTACK 8 MONTHS EARLIER
According to the investigation file, Turgut Taşdemir was also the target of an armed attack about 8 months before his murder. On November 21, 2007, while going to his workplace by bicycle, Taşdemir noticed that he was being followed, and gunfire was opened at him from different points. Injured Taşdemir escaped from the attackers, got into a vehicle, and then went to the police station. The attack was assessed as being linked to the ongoing blood feud between the families.
THE THIRD PERSON IN THE VEHICLE WAS IDENTIFIED BY FINGERPRINT
During the trial regarding the murder, it was determined that there was a third person in the car besides İlhan Kandemir and Yusuf Akbalık. However, the identity of this person could not be established. In İlhan Kandemir's statement, he mentioned a person whom he guessed to be Yusuf Akbalık's older brother and whom he addressed as 'Cesim Abi'; as a result of the investigation conducted after this, it was determined that this person was Mehmet Akbalık.
Two fingerprints taken from the inner surface of the left rear door of the car used in the incident had not been identified with the technological means of the time. The prints were re-examined through the APFIS system used since 2016. In the comparison made, it was determined that the fingerprints belonged to Mehmet Akbalık. This finding entered the file with the forensic report dated October 17, 2024.
PHONE SIGNALS ALSO INDICATED THE CRIME SCENE
In the prosecutor's investigation, records concerning the phone line considered to have been used by Mehmet Akbalık were also examined. It was determined that the line registered in the name of his business partner Şerif Gözcü received a signal from Bursa about a week before the incident and gave signals from base stations near the crime scene during the hours of the murder. The prosecutor's office, evaluating all the evidence together, concluded that Mehmet Akbalık aided the murder.