08.10.2025 12:45
The life sentence given to Mehmet Ateş, who killed musician Şener Esen in the Buca district of İzmir, has been upheld by the appellate court. Details of the incident and information about the court proceedings were provided.
The musician Şener Esen (42), who was working in the Buca district of İzmir, was shot and killed by Mehmet Ateş (28), and the life sentence without parole given to him was upheld in the appellate court.
The incident occurred on February 4, 2022, around 03:00, on 337th Street in Yiğitler Neighborhood. When the residents heard gunshots and went outside, they found musician Şener Esen, a father of one, lying in a pool of blood. Esen was taken to Buca Women's and Children's Hospital by the health teams dispatched to the scene upon notification, but he could not be saved. After the autopsy at the İzmir Forensic Medicine Institution, Şener Esen's body was handed over to his relatives and buried.
The teams from the Homicide Bureau of the Public Security Branch, which initiated an investigation, identified Mehmet Ateş as the suspect in the murder. Ateş, who was taken into custody, confessed to his crime at the police station. After his processing, he was referred to the courthouse, where he was arrested by the court.
HE RECEIVED A LIFE SENTENCE WITHOUT REDUCTION
An indictment was prepared against Mehmet Ateş for the crime of 'intentional murder' seeking a life sentence. The indictment also requested punishment for Ateş's brother Ö.A. (33) for 'aiding intentional murder' and for S.Ç. (36) for 'harboring a criminal.' The indictment was accepted by the İzmir 10th High Criminal Court. In the first hearing of the case, the detained defendant Ateş stated that he killed Esen because he was allegedly bothering his girlfriend M.B. In the trial held in November 2024 at the İzmir 10th High Criminal Court, the court sentenced Mehmet Ateş to life imprisonment for 'intentional murder' without any reduction. S.Ç. was sentenced to 6 months in prison for 'harboring a criminal.' The panel, which ruled that Ö.A.'s actions constituted harboring a criminal, decided that there was no need for a sentence due to the fact that he was the defendant's brother.
HIS SENTENCE WAS UPHELD
Following the decision, the file went to the appellate court upon the lawyers' objections. The 24th Criminal Chamber of the İzmir Regional Court of Justice, reviewing the file, ruled that there was no error in the conviction based on the content of the file, the evidence collected and evaluated at the decision point, the court's belief and judgment formed as a result of the prosecution, the acceptance of the nature of the crime, and the legally sufficient and appropriate reasoning provided. For this reason, the Criminal Chamber decided to reject the appeals and upheld the sentences given by the local court.