09.06.2026 21:51
A verdict was reached in the murder case of Gülhanım and Fahri Baktır, a couple who were killed with a shotgun in front of their home last year in the Hacılar district of Kayseri. The defendant, Murat Günek, whom police tracked down by following blood trails at the crime scene, was sentenced by the court to two consecutive aggravated life imprisonment terms for premeditated murder of two people.
Last year, on October 2, in the Hacılar district of Kayseri, the couple Fahri and Gülhanım Baktır, who were leaving a mosque they had visited, were subjected to an armed attack when they arrived in front of their home.
BLOODY AMBUSH ON COUPLE LEAVING MOSQUE
The couple, hit by pellets from a shotgun fired at them, collapsed in a pool of blood. Upon notification by bystanders, police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene. Police closed the street where the vineyard house was located to traffic and took extensive security measures. The medical team determined that the couple had lost their lives. Gülhanım and Fahri Baktır were laid to rest in the Hacılar district after autopsy procedures.
SPECIAL TEAM ESTABLISHED, 125 HOURS OF CAMERA FOOTAGE EXAMINED
In their efforts to capture the fleeing suspect or suspects, police teams came across horse tracks at the crime scene. A special investigation team was formed under the coordination of the Provincial Police Department's Homicide Bureau, involving the Intelligence Branch, Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch, Riot Police Branch, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Bureau, and Police Search and Rescue (PAK) teams. Technical surveillance, wiretapping, land search and scanning operations, and 125 hours of camera footage were analyzed.
HORSE TRACKS LED TO THE KILLER
As a result of the investigations, it was determined that the suspect was Murat Günek, who had arrived at the scene on horseback and, after the armed attack, fled the area on horseback, which was identified through the animal's footprints. In an operation at the identified address, the suspect Murat Günek was apprehended. Günek, taken into custody, was arrested by the court after his procedures at the police station.
INDICTMENT PREPARED
The investigation conducted by the Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was completed and an indictment was prepared. In the indictment accepted by the Kayseri Heavy Penal Court, a sentence of two separate aggravated life imprisonments was sought for the suspect Murat Günek for the crimes of 'Premeditated murder against a woman' and 'Premeditated murder'. In the indictment, it was stated that Günek, in all his statements, did not accept the accusations and claimed that the horse in question, which was analyzed, did not belong to him and that he did not commit the murder, thus asserting his innocence. The suspect also claimed that his stepmother had a receivable of 85 thousand lira from A.B., the child of the deceased Baktır couple.
VERDICT HEARING HELD
At the verdict hearing of the case heard in the Kayseri 1st Heavy Penal Court, the detained defendant Murat Günek, the complaining daughters and son of the deceased Baktır couple, and the lawyers of the parties were present. The defendant Murat Günek, stating that if the jacket were found it would be revealed that it was not his, said, “That day the police asked about the horse, and I showed it. The horse used in the incident and my horse are very different. I am a hardworking person; how could I be involved in this incident? My stepmother's receivable has nothing to do with me; my sister already takes care of it. I have no connection to the incident whatsoever. I request my release and acquittal.”
TWO AGGRAVATED LIFE SENTENCES
The court panel sentenced Günek to an aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of 'Premeditated intentional murder' against Fahri Baktır and a second aggravated life imprisonment for committing the crime of 'Intentional murder against a woman' against Gülhanım Baktır, and ruled for his continued detention.