07.03.2026 20:29
The court sentenced Rıdvan Bulunmaz, who shot and killed his 28-year-old nurse wife Pınar Bulunmaz in a car, to an aggravated prison sentence in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa. The court converted Bulunmaz's sentence to life imprisonment on the grounds that he had no prior criminal record.
Rıdvan Bulunmaz (31), who is on trial for allegedly killing his nurse wife Pınar Bulunmaz (28) in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
KILLED HIS WIFE IN THE CAR The incident occurred on February 22, 2024, in the Hamidiye neighborhood of Siverek. A phone argument broke out between Pınar Bulunmaz, a nurse at Siverek State Hospital, and her husband Rıdvan Bulunmaz, who claimed she was cheating on him. When Rıdvan Bulunmaz, a prison guard, returned home in his car, he noticed his wife walking quickly outside. Seeing his wife, Rıdvan Bulunmaz began to follow her in his car.
Rıdvan Bulunmaz stopped his wife, who had started to run, and forced her into the vehicle. In the car, Pınar Bulunmaz was shot with a gun. Rıdvan Bulunmaz then went to his mother's house with the injured Pınar Bulunmaz.
ARRESTED Here, Rıdvan Bulunmaz handed over the vehicle and his injured wife to his brothers. Pınar Bulunmaz, who was taken to the hospital where Rıdvan Bulunmaz worked by his brothers, could not be saved. Moments when Pınar Bulunmaz left her house and when Rıdvan Bulunmaz went to his mother's house after the incident were captured by security cameras. Rıdvan Bulunmaz, who was also shot in the gunfire in the car and was detained as a suspect, was arrested for 'intentional murder of a spouse' after his treatment.
INCREASE IN GUNSHOT RESIDUE ON LEFT HAND An examination at the crime scene revealed 10 bullet casings. The gun believed to have been used in the incident was found under the gas pedal, and the weapon was taken for examination at the Diyarbakır Regional Criminal Police Laboratory. In a report prepared by the Diyarbakır Regional Criminal Police Laboratory on March 11, 2024, gunshot residue was detected on Rıdvan Bulunmaz's left hand. On the other hand, Rıdvan Bulunmaz was released to be tried without detention based on the statements of witnesses three months later.
RE-ARRESTED In the fourth hearing of the case held on October 16, 2025, at the Siverek 2nd Heavy Penal Court; Rıdvan Bulunmaz was re-arrested, considering that the crime was among catalog crimes, there was strong suspicion of crime, and the possibility of fleeing or hiding, based on the discovery records from September 4, criminal reports, and the forensic medicine reports dated September 29 and June 20 from Hacettepe University.
FINGERPRINTS REMOVED The sixth hearing of the case was held. The hearing was attended by the lawyers of the parties, the defendant and his defenders, and some witnesses. Rıdvan Bulunmaz participated via SEGBİS from Diyarbakır. Yusuf Tanrıkulu, one of Pınar Bulunmaz's lawyers, stated in his defense, "The incident consists of 3 phases: the phase before the incident, the moment of the incident, and the phase after the incident. Rıdvan's method of embracing Pınar is also wrong, it is planned, the defendant's claim of being injured and cleaning himself at home first, the immediate cleaning of the house after the incident, and the gun being found in the back seat of the vehicle, in the seat pocket, are all contrary to the ordinary course of life. Assuming that many people touched the gun, there should be at least 4 fingerprints on the gun, but their fingerprints were not found on the weapon. The deletion of applications on the defendant's phone is sufficient to think that the incident is not a suicide but a murder. We request the defendant to be punished in the heaviest way," he said.
DISCOUNT APPLIED The court board found Rıdvan Bulunmaz guilty and sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment for 'intentional murder of a female spouse'. The board also converted the sentence to life imprisonment by applying 'judicial discretion reduction' due to the defendant's lack of a prior criminal record.