15.10.2026 21:13
Mehmet Yılmaz, accused of killing his cousins and maternal uncle and wounding two people in Kayseri, and who fled abroad after the incident, made his defense in the courtroom for the first time after being brought back to Turkey about 3.5 years later. Against the defendant, who claimed he was threatened and did not have intent to kill, the relatives of the deceased argued that the murder was premeditated. The prosecutor's office requested punishment for three counts of intentional killing, and the hearing was postponed.
In the Hunat Neighborhood murder case in Kayseri, where three people were killed, Mehmet Yılmaz, who fled abroad after the incident, made his defense in the courtroom for the first time. The defendant, brought back to Turkey after about 3.5 years, was present in the courtroom for the first time after previously attending hearings via SEGBİS. While Yılmaz argued that he was threatened and did not have intent to kill, relatives of the victims claimed that the murder was committed with premeditation.
Relatives of the victims also attended the hearing held at the Kayseri 4th High Criminal Court. Mehmet Yılmaz is accused of killing his cousins Seyit and Gaffar Mehmet Yılmaz and his maternal uncle Serdar Yılmaz, and wounding two people.
I AM NOT A MURDERER
In his defense, Yılmaz claimed that he had been threatened and subjected to armed attacks since 2020, and described encountering his cousins and uncle on the day of the incident. Stating that he carried the gun with him to protect himself, the defendant claimed that the other side surrounded him with knives.
Yılmaz, who said he did not remember how he fired the gun and that he experienced a moment like the safety going off at that time, argued that he had no intent to kill and said, 'I am not a murderer, I did not want to kill, I did not decide to kill in advance.'
Defendant's lawyers argued that their client lived under threat and that the encounter on the day of the incident was a coincidence, and requested an unjust provocation reduction. The lawyers, who requested that the footage be re-examined, stated that they had also submitted to the court the recordings in which they claimed the victims had knives in their hands.
FAMILY: THE MURDER WAS COMMITTED WITH PREMEDITATION
Relatives of the victims reacted to the defendant's account and expressed the pain they had suffered. The family's lawyers, on the other hand, argued that the murder was planned in advance and that the defendant's escape was organized, and requested that he be punished for premeditated intentional killing.
PROSECUTION SOUGHT PUNISHMENT FOR THREE COUNTS OF INTENTIONAL KILLING
The court rejected the defense's requests to obtain a new expert report and to hear witnesses. The prosecution requested that Mehmet Yılmaz be punished for three counts of intentional killing and that his detention continue.
Furthermore, it was requested that the co-defendant Oğuzhan Yılmaz be punished for the crime of threatening with a weapon. The hearing was postponed to a later date.