14.02.2025 23:12
In the case regarding Şaban Ataş's death, the testimony given in court by Ataş's ex-wife Emine Karabulut, with whom he lived, was chilling. Karabulut stated that her boyfriend Burhanettin Öztürk strangled Ataş with a rope and then covered the body with a hoe.
The first hearing of the case regarding the murder of Şaban Ataş (52), whose lifeless body was found 56 days after he went missing in the Seydikemer district of Muğla, was held. During the hearing, Ataş's ex-wife, the detained defendant Emine Karabulut (44), claimed that the murder was committed by her boyfriend, the detained defendant Burhanettin Öztürk (46). Öztürk denied the allegations.
Şaban Ataş, a construction worker and father of three, went missing on March 22. Despite searching for him in places he might have gone, his relatives filed a missing person report with the police one day later when they could not reach him. However, despite all the efforts of the security forces, Ataş could not be found. Emine Karabulut, who shared the same house with her ex-husband despite their recent divorce, confessed to the murder during a live broadcast she participated in with her children.
'HE STRANGLED HIM WITH A ROPE' AND REVEALED THE LOCATION OF THE BODY
Karabulut stated, "At breakfast, Burhanettin Öztürk, Şaban, and I were sitting together. A fight broke out between them. Burhanettin strangled Şaban with a rope. Then he took the body away." After Karabulut revealed the location where the body was buried, the Seydikemer District Police Department was informed. Acting on Karabulut's statement, the police found a male body covered with stones in the Sarıyer area. It was determined that the body belonged to the missing Ataş. The body of Şaban Ataş, found 56 days later, was sent to the Muğla Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy after examination.
3 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED
Following the confession, Emine Karabulut, who was in a program in Istanbul, her boyfriend Burhanettin Öztürk, who worked as a technical service employee in a hotel, and Karabulut's sons Mert Ataş (23) and M.A., along with D.K. (85), Karabulut's mother in Seydikemer, were taken into custody. After their procedures at the Muğla Provincial Police Department's Public Order Branch, the five suspects were referred to the courthouse. Emine Karabulut, Mert Ataş, and Burhanettin Öztürk were arrested. D.K. and M.A. were released under judicial control conditions.
AGGRAVATED LIFE SENTENCES SOUGHT
After the investigation, an indictment was prepared by the Fethiye Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. In the indictment, aggravated life imprisonment was requested for Burhanettin Öztürk, Emine Karabulut, Mert Ataş, and D.K. for the crime of 'premeditated murder.' Additionally, it was requested that Burhanettin Öztürk and Emine Karabulut be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison for theft.
The first hearing of the case was held today at the Fethiye 3rd High Criminal Court. The detained defendants Burhanettin Öztürk and Mert Ataş participated via SEGBİS, while the detained defendant Emine Karabulut, D.K., who was released under judicial control, and Şaban Ataş's son Mehmet Ataş attended.
TESTIMONIES WERE HAUNTING
Defendant Emine Karabulut stated in her testimony that she continued to live in the same house with Şaban Ataş, from whom she divorced in 2010, and that she had been in a relationship with Burhanettin Öztürk since 2006.
Karabulut, who stated that her youngest son was from Burhanettin, said, "On the day of the incident, I was there with my mother and Mert. Burhanettin arrived around 08:00. Şaban and he were going somewhere. While my mother was having breakfast with Burhanettin and Şaban, a dispute arose over wifi. I went to look for a cable in Mehmet's room upstairs. In the meantime, I heard Burhanettin's voice. When I came downstairs, Şaban had been hit with something. He was standing on his knees. There was no blood.
Burhanettin asked me to call my son Mert, who was upstairs. I went upstairs, but Mert didn't wake up. I came back down, and Burhanettin was strangling Şaban with a rope around his neck. I pushed Burhanettin, and he pushed me back. I went upstairs again to call Mert. We came down. Mert walked towards Burhanettin. He pushed him too. Burhanettin asked me to empty Şaban's pockets. I took cigarettes, a phone, money, and keys. We wrapped the body in a carpet. Mert, Burhanettin, and I took it to the storage room. Mert didn't want to carry it, so he was pressured," she testified.
"HE COVERED THE BODY WITH A HOE"
Karabulut also confessed that Şaban sent her 36,000 TL from his account via his phone, saying, "Burhanettin was going to take items to Seki Neighborhood, so he had tied a wheeled vehicle to the back of the car. We put the body there along with the items with Mert and Burhanettin. Mert and my mother didn't want to get in the car. Burhanettin pressured them to get in. On the way to Seki, we left the body at the place Burhanettin specified. He didn't cover it. We went to Seki. We left the other items. At 04:30 at night, we went to the body, and Burhanettin covered the body with a hoe," she said. Karabulut later stated that they went to report the missing person with her two sons and mentioned that they couldn't tell the police about the incident because they were scared.
"I WAS AFRAID HE WOULD KILL ME IF I SCREAMED"
Defendant Mert Ataş stated in his testimony that when he came downstairs on the day of the murder, "My father's hands were tied behind his back, and there was a rope around his neck. He was motionless. I had to help when he was taken out of the house. I wanted to go to the police and tell everything, but I was afraid that Burhanettin would harm my mother and siblings," he said.
Defendant D.K. stated in court, "I saw the murder. Burhanettin first hit Şaban with a stick, then strangled him with a rope he took out of his pocket. I was afraid that if I screamed, he would kill me too, so I couldn't do anything," she testified.
"I AM BEING SLANDERED"
Defendant Burhanettin Öztürk claimed he had no involvement in the murder, stating, "Emine and I have been in a relationship since 2006. On the day of the incident, while they were having breakfast, I drank 2 cups of tea at home. Then I left the house. Emine was telling me that the youngest son H.A. was mine. I didn't have a DNA test done. That's why I was constantly helping. I was always coming and going. We were going to take items to Seki, I tied a cart to my car and came. We carried items to Seki. We stopped once for a market on the way, and we didn't stop anywhere else. I didn't see a body. I have no connection to the murder. I am being slandered," he said.
THE HEARING WAS ADJOURNED
The court decided to continue the detention status of Emine Karabulut, Mert Ataş, and Burhanettin Öztürk, and D.K.'s judicial control condition, and adjourned the hearing to a later date.