08.06.2026 23:21
Four defendants, two of whom are in custody, accused of killing Ahmet Yılmaz, nicknamed "Kirpi" (Hedgehog), who disappeared in Zonguldak in 2008 and whose bones were found in the Ulutan Dam two years later, faced a judge for the first time. Custodial defendant Tarık Yolcu, claiming that Yılmaz was killed by Baycan İleri in the back seat while driving, said, "There was an argument between Baycan and the deceased. Baycan suddenly strangled him from behind. I have felt guilty for 18 years, I couldn't hide it. I kept it a secret for 18 years."
{
"text": "
Ahmet Yılmaz, nicknamed 'Kirpi', who disappeared in Zonguldak in 2008 and whose bones were found in Ulutan Dam 2 years later, faced the judge for the first time with 4 defendants, 2 of whom are in custody, alleged to have killed him. Yılmaz's wife at the time complained about the defendants.
DNA TEST MATCHED WITH BONES FOUND IN THE DAM
On December 9, 2010, a fisherman found human bones on the shore of Ulutan Dam in Zonguldak, where the waters had receded. As part of the investigation, DNA tests in 2012 determined that the bones belonged to Ahmet Yılmaz, nicknamed 'Kirpi', a married father of 5 who disappeared in 2008. Examinations at the time concluded there was 'no evidence that Ahmet Yılmaz was killed', and in 2012, when the DNA results came out, a non-prosecution decision was issued for the case. After Hüseyin P., who received the heaviest sentence in a 32-defendant criminal organization case allegedly led by Emircan İleri but was acquitted, gave a statement, the non-prosecution decision was lifted and the case was reopened.
INDICTMENT PREPARED
As a result of the investigation by the Public Order Branch Directorate, it was determined that those who knew about Ahmet Yılmaz's murder made false applications and statements like 'Ahmet lives in Istanbul. I bought drugs from him, he lives in a hotel' to conceal the death. It was stated that Emircan İleri, Tarık Yolcu (50), Köksal Aktaş (48), and Baycan İleri tried to hide the murder this way for many years. In the indictment prepared by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was included that after Ahmet Yılmaz, nicknamed 'Kirpi', was strangled in a car, his body was left in a sack in an abandoned mine, and then thrown into the dam.
With the indictment, Tarık Yolcu, Köksal Aktaş, and İlker Eren were charged with 'intentional murder by participation', and Emircan İleri was charged as an instigator. Baycan İleri was determined to have died from leukemia in 2017. Within the scope of the case, İlker Eren was the first to be arrested in November 2025, and later released. In February 2026, Tarık Yolcu and Köksal Aktaş were arrested, and a house arrest decision was made for Emircan İleri.
FIRST HEARING HELD
The first hearing of the incident was held today at the Zonguldak 1st Heavy Penal Court. At the hearing, İlker Eren, detained for another crime; Tarık Yolcu, detained for this crime; Köksal Aktaş, convicted and detained for another crime; Emircan İleri, who is not in custody; and the lawyers of the parties were present in the courtroom. Ahmet Yılmaz's wife from 2008, D.D., attended the hearing via SEGBIS.
HE USED HIS RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT
While detained defendant Köksal Eren said, 'I am using my right to remain silent,' his lawyer stated that they did not want to give a statement because they thought they would attend via SEGBIS, and that they would prepare to give a statement in person at the next session.
"I JUMPED OUT OF THE CAR AFTER HE WAS STRANGLED"
Tarık Yolcu, who said he was in the same car when Ahmet Yılmaz was killed by Baycan İleri, said, 'I don't know Hüseyin P. at all. I don't know why he gave such statements. We were drinking alcohol together, Ahmet came to us. Then we left. I was driving the car. Baycan and Köksal were in the back, Ahmet was sitting to my right. There was an argument between Baycan and the deceased. Baycan strangled him from behind suddenly. I've had a guilty conscience for 18 years, I couldn't hide it. When Baycan strangled Ahmet, I panicked and jumped out of the car. Köksal was very drunk. He wouldn't even remember what happened. He was an alcoholic. After Baycan strangled him, I jumped out of the car. Then Baycan put him in a sack he took from the trunk. Then he went and left him in a mine. There was an old abandoned mine there. He left the body there. Later, I went to Bursa and had nothing else to do with it.'
"I KEPT IT A SECRET FOR 18 YEARS, EVERYONE WAS SILENT"
Emircan İleri said that when he was brought to the prosecutor's office regarding this incident, some people were talking back and forth, so he felt the need to tell the event he had kept secret for 18 years: 'I don't remember exactly, but a few days after the incident, my brother Baycan told me, 'We suddenly got into a fight.' It was about a matter with his wife. 'We got into a fight. When I made a move from behind, his neck probably broke,' he said. I don't know what happened afterwards, my brother didn't tell me either. My brother was strong; after he said his neck broke, I didn't ask for details. Baycan had been released from prison, he still had 9 years of sentence to serve. Everyone was silent. He was my brother, after all, we naturally protected him. We didn't talk to the police or gendarmerie. We told those who wanted to talk to shut up and not speak. As for the silencing issue, when someone said, 'They say Uncle Ahmet was killed by Baycan,' I said, 'Shut up, don't talk.' The people I said this to are tradesmen in Acılık. Unavoidably, I kept this a secret for 18 years. I realized at the prosecutor's office that it shouldn't be hidden. I'm also telling it today. I don't know what they said to Baycan in the car that made them get into a fight. Even though I kept it a secret, I wrote about the event on very secret notes in prison; the ward tea maker Coşkun M. knows about it; it's not logical. Since the notes already stayed on the roof and didn't pass, the administration collected and read them. Why would I do that? Coşkun is lying. Baycan would commit a murder, I have nothing to do with it, and then I would just say 'give me the body' and become his partner; it's against the natural course of life. I do not accept the accusation.'
D.D., YILMAZ'S WIFE AT THAT TIME, BECAME A PLAINTIFF IN COURT
Ahmet Yılmaz's wife at the time, D.D., said she had no relationship with Baycan İleri and that they were slandering her to save themselves: 'Everyone knows about the thefts Emircan and Ahmet did. They couldn't share the loot. My husband used to threaten Emircan, saying 'I will report you to the police.' He disappeared shortly after these arguments. He is trying to save himself by blaming his dead brother. One day, Köksal told me, 'Ahmet and Emircan went to the dam, Emircan returned alone, Ahmet didn't return.' I was scared of these people and left here. If they did this to Ahmet, what wouldn't they do to me? I had 2 children, I left for them. I am filing a complaint.'
The court board, which decided to continue the detention of Tarık Yolcu and Köksal Aktaş and the house arrest measure of Emircan İleri, lifted İlker Eren's judicial control measure, since he was already in prison, and imposed a ban on traveling abroad, postponing the hearing to October 2 to resolve the deficiencies.
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}