The defendant who strangled his pregnant wife asked the court panel for something.

In a horrifying incident that occurred in the Seyhan district of Adana, Emrah Demir strangled his 7-month pregnant wife, Hatice Demir, following a dispute they had. The perpetrator was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.

On October 29, 2023, a dispute broke out between Emrah Demir and his 7-month pregnant wife, Hatice Demir, in the Kavaklı neighborhood of Seyhan district during the night. As the argument escalated into a fight in the early morning hours, Emrah Demir covered his wife's face with his hand to prevent her from screaming. After a while, noticing that his wife was not moving, Demir went outside and shouted for help from his neighbors, saying, 'I think I killed my wife.' Upon receiving the notification, health teams dispatched to the area confirmed that Hatice Demir had lost her life.

GRIEVING PARENTS WERE ALSO PRESENT

After being captured and arrested, Emrah Demir faced charges of 'intentional murder of his wife' in the Adana 3rd High Criminal Court, where the verdict hearing was held. The defendant, Emrah Demir, participated in the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) from the prison where he was detained. The mother of the deceased, Hatice Demir, Belgin, her father Ali, and her brother Ali Durgut, along with the parties' lawyers, were present in the courtroom.

"MY MENTAL HEALTH HAS DETERIORATED DUE TO THIS INCIDENT"

In his final defense, the defendant Emrah Demir apologized to his father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, the court panel, and the lawyers present in the courtroom. Demir stated, "I apologize for being before you with such a crime," and added, "I am not a bad person. I am just someone who suffers from a fire-ice disease. I was under the influence of drugs during the incident, so I do not remember whether I killed my wife or not. I loved my wife very much. My mental health has deteriorated due to this incident. If the court panel deems it appropriate, I would like to be committed to a mental health and diseases hospital again."

"WE DO NOT ACCEPT THE DEFENDANT'S APOLOGIES"

Family lawyer Şirin Şeyma Bulut stated that the defendant's final defense was aimed at evading punishment, saying, "As family representatives, we do not accept the defendant's apologies on behalf of the family. He is someone who uses drugs. Hatice was 7 months pregnant and had been married for 1 year. Although he claims to have been under the influence of drugs during the incident, he prevented those who came to the house after the incident from entering and intentionally wanted to kill his wife and the baby in her womb. The regretful words he is now saying are entirely aimed at evading punishment. We demand that he be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

"HE HAS NOT EXPERIENCED ANY REGRET AFTER THE INCIDENT"

Lawyer Ecem Sena Mutlay stated, "Although the defendant claims he acted under the influence of drugs, he did so of his own volition. After the incident, he did not experience any regret and even threatened both the family and us in the previous hearing in your presence. As far as we know, Hatice was 20 weeks pregnant. He strangled his wife to death and, after the incident, prevented anyone from entering, thus attempting to kill intentionally. We demand that the defendant be punished for intentional murder twice, for both his wife and the baby."

The court panel sentenced the defendant Emrah Demir to aggravated life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, Hatice Demir. The panel decided not to apply any reductions in the sentence and ruled for the continuation of the defendant's detention.