09.02.2026 11:32
The statement given by Reşat Çakırbeyli, who killed his 28-year-old wife Fatma Çakırbeyli with 16 knife wounds, emerged in 2024. The defendant claimed that he caught his wife communicating with someone else and alleged that his wife said, "Kill me." However, during the hearing held on February 5, 2026, he stated that he did not remember these statements.
The statements given by the defendant, who killed his 28-year-old wife by beating her and stabbing her 16 times in the Çaldıran district of Van, were chilling. The defendant claimed that he caught his wife communicating with someone else during the arrest process, saying, "After these events, my wife told me, 'If I kill myself, I will go to hell. I can't do this, you do it, kill me.' Upon this, I first tried to strangle her with my hands. Then, taking the knife she showed me, I stabbed her several times in the neck and throat area," he recounted the events. However, in court, the defendant stated that he did not remember these statements. Following this, the court postponed the hearing to a later date.
HE KILLED HIS WIFE WITH 16 STAB WOUNDS The incident occurred on December 26, 2024, around 5:30 PM in a family apartment in the Çaldıran district of Van. According to the information obtained, a dispute arose between 28-year-old Fatma Çakırbeyli, who came to Van from the Yalvaç district of Isparta to get married, and her husband Reşat Çakırbeyli, the cause of which has not yet been determined. Fatma Çakırbeyli lost her life after being beaten for a long time and receiving a total of 16 stab wounds, two of which were to the neck area. It was learned that the couple's two children were in the lower floor of the apartment during the murder. After the incident, police teams began examining the security cameras in the apartment. Reşat Çakırbeyli, who was taken into custody, was arrested by the court and sent to prison. The funeral of 28-year-old mother of two, Fatma Çakırbeyli, was buried on January 2, 2025, in her hometown, Yukarıkaşıkara village, in the Yalvaç district of Isparta.
HE CLAIMED HE DID NOT REMEMBER HIS STATEMENT AT THE POLICE On February 5, the defendant appeared before the judge for the first time via SEGBİS at the Erciş Heavy Penal Court, and while the statements he gave to the law enforcement on the day he was caught were chilling, it was noteworthy that he said he did not remember these statements during the hearing. The court panel postponed the hearing to a later date due to contradictions between the statements. The family attending the hearing at the Yalvaç Courthouse called for justice from the authorities for the defendant to be tried in the harshest way.
"I CAUGHT MY WIFE MESSAGING SOMEONE ELSE" In his statement at the court, defendant Reşat Çakırbeyli said, "I have been religiously married to Fatma Çakırbeyli for 10 years. We have two children named Efraim and Bünyamin from this marriage. A month before the incident, I caught Fatma secretly using social media. She was messaging a man. They had written love messages to each other. There were messages like 'If it ends in death, I will come to you, I won't leave you.' I asked Fatma, but she did not tell me who he was." After a while, the defendant stated that he heard from his son that his wife had given a gift to a teacher, saying, "I asked Fatma who this person was. She said, 'Let’s not let anyone hear, let’s drop the subject.' She said it was a teacher from my son's school. I told her not to talk to anyone and I dropped the subject."
"WHEN SHE SAID 'YOU ARE NOT EVEN WORTHY OF THAT TEACHER,' I LOST CONTROL" Describing the day of the incident, the defendant said, "I went home, went upstairs, Fatma opened the door, she was in a bad mood. She said to me, 'Are you going to block me with the camera, you will take this camera down?' I told her I wouldn't take it down. She said to me, 'Are you a man, you are not even worthy of that teacher, I have not seen half of the interest he showed me from you.' When I heard these words, I lost control." The defendant stated that they were in the kitchen, saying, "The children were not at home. Fatma showed me the knife, but I don't know why she showed it. I don't remember how I took the knife. They say I stabbed her 16 times, two of which were fatal, I don't know how it happened. At that moment, I lost control."
"I STRANGLED HER FIRST, THEN STABBED HER" The defendant was reminded of his statement during the investigation phase, in which he said his wife wanted to die. In his statement at the police, he had said, "My wife told me, 'If I kill myself, I will go to hell, I can't do this, you do it, kill me.' Upon this, I first tried to strangle her with my hands, then I took the knife she showed me and stabbed her several times in the neck and throat area." However, the defendant stated that he did not remember these words in the first hearing before the judge. The court panel recorded that there were contradictions between the defendant's statements at the police, the prosecutor's office, and the court.
COUSIN SPOKE, ALLEGATIONS CAUGHT ATTENTION Speaking after the court, Fatma Çakırbeyli's cousin Mevlüt Çelik said, "Today we attended my cousin's trial. The lawyers of the opposing side argued that the defendant should not be overly burdened due to the social structure he lives in. They say the incident happened in a moment of anger, but this was definitely not a momentary rage. The defendant's cellmate also confessed some things in his own words. Additionally, we heard that the defendant's brother had previously said, 'Clean your honor, finish this job.'
SISTER REACTED, CLAIMED IT WAS PLANNED Speaking after the court, the late Fatma Çakırbeyli's brother Tolga Şapçı said, "My sister was murdered 13 months ago, and I was not present at the hearing today. I listened to the lies of the defendant and his lawyers. This person remembers what suits him, but does not remember what does not suit him. He does not remember stabbing my sister 16 times, but he remembers that my sister cheated on him and that his brother said, 'Clean your honor.' His lies are so obvious that even his own lawyer slipped and said, 'Yes, she was murdered' for my sister. According to what his cellmate said, he confessed everything, even stating that he was told to 'clean his honor.'
They say the incident happened in a moment of anger, but I do not believe that. I think this murder was planned," he stated.
The hearing was postponed to a later date to address the missing issues, while it was reported that the defendant's detention status would be evaluated periodically through the file. The next hearing of the case was scheduled for May 14, 2026, at 11:00 AM, while the court decided to continue the defendant's detention. The family visited their daughter's grave after the court session.