06.03.2026 15:36
The distribution warehouse of an ice cream factory in Aksaray, where retired geological engineer Tekin Atılgan (55) was found dead in a freezer after a missing person report, has led to a request for aggravated life imprisonment for the warehouse manager Yaşar Can Kahya (31), who is accused of murdering him.
A retired geological engineer, Tekin Atılgan (55), who was found dead in a freezer after a missing person report, was killed by the warehouse manager, Yaşar Can Kahya (31), for whom aggravated life imprisonment was requested.
Relatives of Tekin Atılgan, who had two marriages and two children, reported him missing to the police on August 26 after not hearing from him since August 20, 2025. The teams from the Provincial Security Directorate's Public Order Branch, which initiated an investigation, found Atılgan's car abandoned in a hospital parking lot without a license plate. The police, deepening their investigation, began examining security camera footage from the distribution warehouse of the ice cream factory where Atılgan worked as a marketer after retiring from geological engineering.
BURNT ICE CREAM FREEZER FOUND
The investigation revealed that a vehicle leaving the ice cream factory's warehouse on the day Atılgan went missing was headed towards the Altunhisar district of Niğde. Focusing their investigation in this area, the police noticed a black-painted ice cream freezer belonging to the factory, which had been set on fire, on the roadside near Altunhisar on August 28. When the police opened the freezer, they found the lifeless body of Tekin Atılgan. The police determined that the person who used the vehicle that transported Atılgan's body was warehouse manager Yaşar Can Kahya, and apprehended the suspect in Kayseri on August 29.
'THE GUN FIRED DURING THE STRUGGLE'
In his statement, Yaşar Can Kahya said that Tekin Atılgan started working at the factory two years ago, and on August 19, he had a dispute with the head of the accounting department over an invoice, after which Atılgan voluntarily left his job. Kahya noted that the evening after Atılgan left, he came to the workplace with bottles of alcohol in a bag. "Tekin drank from two bottles of alcohol. I also had a glass. During this time, we talked about the problems at work, but he said he wouldn't return to work. When I told him we needed to leave for our homes around 11:00 PM, Tekin pointed a gun at me and told me to enter the cold storage. When we entered the cold storage, I tried to take the gun from him. A struggle ensued between us. The gun in Tekin's hand fired twice, but I didn't see where those shots went. During the struggle, we both collapsed to the ground. The gun in Tekin's hand fired again 2-3 times. During the struggle, I kicked Tekin's arm, causing the gun to fall to the ground. At that moment, I saw blood flowing from Tekin's body. I realized that the person was dying while struggling," he said.
PLACED THE BODY IN THE FREEZER AND COVERED IT WITH ICE CREAM
Kahya explained that he wrapped Tekin Atılgan's body in a tarpaulin and carried it with a chair into the ice cream freezer, saying: "To avoid drawing attention, I placed ice cream from the other freezers inside. Then I plugged in the freezer and set it up. I put the gun in a steel safe. I took Tekin's bag, the bottles, and the car keys and left the workplace. I drove away in Tekin's car. I threw the bag and bottles somewhere on the way. I went home, and my child and wife were sleeping. First, I took a shower and threw my blood-stained clothes in the trash at home. I stayed awake until morning. In the early morning, I took the trash from the house and threw it in the garbage on the Adana road."
CALLED 3 APPRENTICES TO LOAD THE BODY INTO THE VEHICLE
Kahya then stated that he went back to the workplace, told the accountant that the distributors could leave early after they left the factory, went to the bank, withdrew 200,000 TL that Tekin Atılgan had borrowed and sent to his account, and deposited it into the workplace's bank account. Kahya recounted that after leaving the bank, he returned to the factory and, with the help of three apprentices working at the opposite workplace, loaded the ice cream freezer containing Tekin Atılgan's body into a factory vehicle and disposed of it near the Altunhisar district. Kahya also mentioned that he abandoned Atılgan's car in the hospital parking lot and left by taxi. Kahya was arrested by the court to which he was brought.
TOOK HIS GUN FROM THE SAFE AND FIRED 8 SHOTS
The indictment prepared by the Aksaray Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the incident has been completed. The indictment states that on the day of the incident, a dispute arose between Kahya and Atılgan over a debt-collection issue, leading to a fight between the parties, during which Kahya fired 8 shots at the intoxicated and drunk Atılgan with the gun he kept in his safe, resulting in Atılgan's death due to internal organ damage, bone fractures, and internal bleeding.
WITHDREW A LOAN FROM THE BANK AFTER THE MURDER
The indictment also noted that immediately after killing Atılgan, Kahya used Atılgan's mobile phone to withdraw a loan of 300,000 TL from one bank and 350,000 TL from another bank through a mobile application, but due to exceeding the limit, he could only transfer 200,000 TL to his account and that his mobile phone, vehicle, and personal belongings were looted. It was also stated in the indictment that during the money transfer, Kahya tried to create the appearance of being missing by writing in the transaction descriptions, "Brother, I will go on vacation for a long time, this money will help you and our daughter, greetings to dad, I love you."
3 DIFFERENT CHARGES
Yaşar Can Kahya is facing aggravated life imprisonment for "killing to conceal a crime or evidence of another crime or to avoid capture," up to 15 years in prison for "robbery," and up to 4 years in prison for "purchasing, carrying, or possessing firearms and ammunition without a license."