16.05.2026 14:50
The woman's message "Tatildeyim" written with Turkish letters in the WhatsApp group solved the murder. Erkan B, 49, the last person she contacted, confessed to strangling the woman with a dog leash in the car, dismembering her body, staying with it in the vehicle for 2 days, then taking it to Kırşehir and burying it there. Three suspects, including Erkan B, were referred to the courthouse.
In the Maltepe district of Istanbul, Darıush Tahbaz went to the Küçükyalı Police Station to report his cousin, Iranian national Farkhundeh Ghaem Maghami (68), as missing since April 11th, stating he had been unable to reach her. Teams from the Public Order Branch Directorate's Missing Persons Bureau took action upon the missing person report. It was learned that the Iranian woman had been living in Istanbul for approximately 20 years and resided in the Küçükyalı neighborhood of Maltepe.
TEAMS ENTERING THE HOUSE BECAME SUSPICIOUS
In the neighborhood inquiry conducted around the Iranian woman's home, it was learned that she lived a quiet life and regularly paid her rent, bills, and dues. As part of the investigation, a search was carried out in the Iranian woman's home. When it was discovered that cooked meals had been left out and had spoiled, police teams expanded their efforts.
"I'M ON VACATION" MESSAGE SOLVED THE MURDER
During their work, the Missing Persons Bureau teams learned that the Iranian woman had been living in Istanbul for about 20 years, could speak Turkish very well, but could not write in Turkish. Upon this, it caught the teams' attention that the Iranian woman, Farkhundeh, wrote "I'm on vacation" in Turkish letters on the building's WhatsApp group on April 18th. Examining the Iranian woman's call history, teams determined through HTS (call detail record) investigations that the last person she contacted was Erkan B. (49), who lived in Esenyurt. Starting to investigate Erkan B., teams reviewing security camera footage determined that the suspect picked up the woman from her home on April 14th and they ate together at a restaurant in Büyükçekmece.
STRANGLED WITH A DOG LEASH AND DISMEMBERED
Missing Persons Bureau teams brought Erkan B., whom they had taken into custody, to the Public Order Branch Directorate for statement proceedings. During the initial questioning, Erkan B. denied the allegations. It was learned that after examinations, in light of the evidence obtained, suspect Erkan B. confessed to his crime during the statement-taking process. In his statement to the police, the suspect reportedly said he had a romantic relationship with the Iranian woman, Farkhundeh, and would meet and dine with her; during their last meeting on April 14th, after an argument broke out between them in the car, he killed her by strangling her with her own dog's leash. It was also learned that the suspect placed the body in the back seat of the car, then dismembered it inside the vehicle, put the pieces in bags, and remained with the body in the car for 2 days.
BODY FOUND IN KIRŞEHİR
On April 17th, in a settlement area in the Mucur district of Kırşehir, stray dogs, having smelled the corpse in the soil, went to the location, and it was determined that human limbs were emerging from the ground. Upon reports from nearby residents, teams from the Kırşehir Provincial Gendarmerie Command were dispatched to the scene. Through joint efforts by the Public Order Branch Directorate's Missing Persons Bureau teams and the Kırşehir Gendarmerie Command teams, the human limbs found by the stray dogs were identified as belonging to the Iranian woman. The Iranian woman's body was taken to the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute and will be handed over to her family on Monday.
3 SUSPECTS, 1 WOMAN, SENT TO COURT
Regarding the murder of the 68-year-old Iranian woman, it was learned that suspect Erkan B. was on probation for previous crimes, had a romantic relationship with the Iranian woman, and also had a legal wife. As the mystery of the murder was unraveled during a scene reenactment conducted with the suspect, Mesut A. and Sedef G., who were found to be connected to the incident, were also taken into custody. The 3 suspects, including 1 woman, were sent to court after the completion of their procedures here.