12.02.2025 12:00
The trial has begun for the man who killed his wife while going through a divorce in Antalya. In his defense, the defendant stated, "I apologize to her family. A man who kills a woman is not a man; he is not an honorable person." The daughter of the murdered woman, who was heard as a witness during the hearing, defended her father, saying, "My mother was not afraid of my father. She would say things like, 'What kind of man are you? Don't you have any male pride?'"
The murder suspect Savaş Temirhanoğulları, who was arrested for killing his wife, and his friend F. İ., who is being tried without arrest on the grounds of aiding him, appeared before the judge for the first time. The hearing at the Antalya 1st Heavy Penal Court was attended by the victim Fadim Temirhanoğulları's mother, father, siblings, daughters, women's associations, and the parties' lawyers. The victim's mother, Mediha Saçlı, entered the courtroom crying with her daughter's photo.
"A MAN WHO KILLS A WOMAN IS NOT A MAN" In his defense, the suspect Savaş Temirhanoğulları claimed that the accusations were not as described, saying, "Yes, I killed my wife. It was my friend F. İ. who introduced us. He is a hairdresser. I had a happy marriage for 17 years. I am not a monster. I apologize to her family. A man who kills a woman is not a man, he is not an honorable person." At that moment, when the victim's family interrupted the suspect, the presiding judge warned the family.
"I DON'T REMEMBER HOW MANY TIMES I PULLED THE TRIGGER" Savaş Temirhanoğulları, who said that his wife had psychological problems for the past year, stated, "She used to take antidepressant medications. I love my wife, I still love her. Right now, I am a living dead. My wife wanted a divorce in the last year. I stayed at my father's house for 2-3 months, then we reconciled. After a while, when I reached out to my wife, she would say things like 'Pull your hand away, you filthy.' She would make different accusations against me. It is true that I had a restraining order. The person who married us is F. İ. He is aware of the events we experienced. He said he could reconcile us. F. İ. spoke with my wife. F. İ. said he might come late due to work. I was at my father's house. About 20-25 minutes before the incident, he picked me up from home, it was around 03:35 at night. We entered the building and went upstairs. My wife opened the door. She directly asked me, 'Why are you here?' I told her I came because F. İ. wanted to reconcile us. When I went home, I did not have a gun on me. My wife had abnormal changes in the last year. I suspected she was cheating on me. She admitted that she was cheating on me. While we were arguing, my wife took the unlicensed gun in the house. I took the gun from her hand. She said to me, 'If you are a man, shoot me. I am not afraid of death.' Then she confessed to cheating on me. I fired towards the stairs. F. İ. tried to stop me. He continued to curse. I don't remember how many times I pulled the trigger. My wife was just cursing, then she collapsed to the ground. After that, I don't remember F. İ. taking me away. F. İ. is the person who took us there to reconcile. This person has no fault. I have plucked the rose from my heart. I do not want any innocent person to be punished," he said.
"MY LATE SISTER TOLD ME BEFORE 'SAVAŞ SHOULD GIVE A HOUSE AND LEAVE'" F. İ. expressed in his defense that they did not want such an incident to happen, saying, "I know the deceased. She is both my sister and my coworker. Some problems occurred between them. Both sides lost control, and both hurt each other. We could not meet with them for about 10 years. They were a nice family. My sister was a bit hot-tempered. On the day of the incident, I spoke with my sister via WhatsApp. I made an offer if there was something I could fix. Two days later, I spoke with her on the phone. She also wanted to talk. Since we worked together at the hair salon, she would tell me everything. She even told me about her first husband. The deceased was a bit tough, authoritative. Savaş brother was also tough, but my sister could make him do what she wanted. One person did not die; we all died. I was with her at the time of the incident. Savaş brother went with the intention of reconciling. When my sister saw Savaş, she said, 'There is no escape from you, is there?' My brother said, 'Even though I know some things, I want to try for Isra.' They made moves while shouting at each other. My late sister told me before, 'Savaş should give a house and leave.' I told my brother. He said he would give a car as a gift. At the time of the incident, my sister was heavily agitated, spitting, and shouting. We were afraid of her. Her psychology was not stable. We really went to reconcile. Fadim sister took the gun from the coat rack because she was afraid of us. Savaş brother took the gun from her hand. When I tried to intervene, he hit me too, then he shot. Fadim sister was on the third step. Savaş brother shot for 5-6 seconds. He had the gun in his hand, and when he was leaving the apartment, he put the gun in his pocket. I am very regretful. My psychology is also disturbed. I did not call anyone for help because I was thinking about my family," he said.
MOTHER REQUESTED "THE HEAVIEST PENALTY" The complainant Mediha Saçlı stated that she is the mother of the victim and mentioned that she spoke with her daughter on the phone shortly before she was killed, saying, "My daughter was in the process of divorce. She told me that her husband pointed a gun at her. I learned about their incompatibility in recent days. She was very scared. My daughter had the KADES application on her phone. This person took my life. I am complaining. I want him to receive the heaviest penalty," she said.
Father Mehmet Saçlı stated that he was not aware of the incompatibility between his daughter and son-in-law, expressing that he learned about their incompatibility on the day she died.
The daughters and siblings of the victim from her first marriage also stated that there was severe incompatibility between the couple, claiming that Savaş Temirhanoğulları had been violent towards his wife.
"MY MOTHER WAS NOT AFRAID OF MY FATHER" The daughter of the murder suspect Savaş Temirhanoğulları, İ. T., stated that she was not complaining about the suspects, saying, "One morning, my mother had a knife in her hand and was holding it against my father's chest firmly. My father hugged my mother so that I wouldn't see the knife. At that moment, a slight cut occurred on my father's chest. My mother and father had small fights like every couple. I did not see my father being violent towards my mother. I had gone to bed late on the day of the incident; it was around 01:30. I woke up to the doorbell, it was around 04:00. First, I heard a strange man's voice. I slightly opened the door. This time I heard my father's voice and felt relieved. I closed my door and went back to bed. I heard my father and mother's shouting. My mother was saying things like, 'What kind of man are you? Don't you have any male pride?' I don't remember if I heard a gunshot. When I woke up in the morning, it was around 08:40. I opened the door, and my mother was lying on the floor in front of me. I informed the neighbors, called my aunt, and called the police and ambulance. My mother was not afraid of my father. My mother said things like, 'I will do such things that he will have to kill me. If something happens to me, it is because of this.' My aunts were complaining. My aunts had not entered our lives until now. These people have recently entered our lives.
These people later became part of our lives and brought us to this state, they guided my mother. By directing my mother on certain issues, they made her do things she wouldn't have thought of. I also heard some of their conversations. My father had a gun, he kept it at home. My father worked at night, he put the gun in my mother's closet for our protection," he said.
I. T., who claimed that his mother went to a psychiatrist about a year before the incident on his advice, said that his mother was receiving treatment with medication.
HE WILL BE TRIED IN CUSTODY The lawyers of the defendant Savaş Temirhanoğulları stated that he had agreed with two people to kill the victim's first husband, and for this reason, he served 2 months and 10 days in prison for instigation. The court decided to continue the detention of Savaş Temirhanoğulları and the judicial control of F. İ., and postponed the hearing.
"I PROTECTED MY HONOR" After the approximately 7-hour trial, Müjde Tozbey, the President of the Association for Children and Women First, made a statement in front of the Antalya Courthouse, stating that the hearing was postponed to March 12, saying, "In the hearing that lasted 7 hours, everyone is defending themselves. But the murderer says 'I protected my honor' regarding why he killed Fadim. We know these claims. For years, women have been killed in our country, and 'I protected my honor' is said. However, they do not discuss their own immorality. Today, the parties were heard in the hearing, the murderer made a statement. We also requested the arrest of the other defendant who assisted the murderer for carrying the weapon. Our request for arrest was not accepted, but the murderer will continue to remain in custody in prison. The hearing was postponed to March 12, and we will be here again," she said.
"IF YOU'RE DIVORCED, WHY ARE YOU KILLING?" Mediha Saçlı, the mother of Fadim Temirhanoğulları, who was killed by her husband, stated that she wanted justice to be served and for the defendants to receive the heaviest punishment, saying, "He brutally killed my daughter, I am complaining about him. I want justice to be served. He took my life, he took my child. My heart is broken. Children and women are always the ones who suffer. If you are divorced, why are you killing? I want them to receive a very heavy punishment," she expressed.
FROM THE INDICTMENT Fadim Temirhanoğulları (52), who was managing a site on 252nd Street in the Hurma neighborhood of Konyaaltı district, was found shot dead by her daughter in the morning on September 12, 2024. Police teams captured and detained F. İ., who was alleged to have assisted her husband Savaş Temirhanoğulları (48) in escaping. While Temirhanoğulları was arrested, F. İ. was released. The Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment against Savaş Temirhanoğulları for "premeditated murder against a woman" and against F. İ. for "aiding in the premeditated murder of a woman." The indictment stated that the defendant Temirhanoğulları went to the house of his wife, who was in the process of divorce, with the vehicle with license plate 07 ETZ 17 used by the other defendant F. İ., and shot the victim five times with his unlicensed pistol. It was noted in the indictment that the defendant fled the scene in the vehicle used by F. İ., and it was also mentioned that the victim had previously filed two complaints about being threatened with death by her husband. The indictment also included the statement that Savaş Temirhanoğulları killed his wife during a dispute that arose due to infidelity. The indictment requested that the defendants Savaş Temirhanoğulları be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and F. İ. to up to 20 years in prison. The indictment was accepted by the Antalya 1st Heavy Criminal Court.