01.10.2025 15:27
In Sivas, Hüseyin Sönmez, who is being tried in detention for allegedly murdering 22-year-old Umutcan and 16-year-old Melisa Şimşek, appeared before the judge. During the hearing, Sönmez denied the charges against him, stating, "I did not commit the murders. I was set up. I did not harm anyone." Sönmez also requested his release and asked for a decision to be made for him to receive treatment at a fully equipped hospital.
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The siblings Umutcan and Melisa Şimşek, who lived in the 12th-floor apartment D Block of the Idil Apartment on 58th Street in Kılavuz Neighborhood, were found on the night of May 6th by their mother Ayşegül Şimşek, bound with plastic handcuffs and killed by having their throats cut. After conducting investigations and reviewing camera footage, the police teams identified the perpetrator as Hüseyin Sönmez, who lives in Ankara.
ARRESTED IN ANKARA
It was determined that Sönmez, who entered the house in a camouflaged manner and stayed in the building for 5 hours before committing the murders, returned to Ankara. Hüseyin Sönmez, who was arrested in Ankara, claimed that he came to the city to collect a debt of 500,000 lira he had given to the children's father, Uğur Şimşek, who went missing 5 years ago, and asserted that he did not kill the children. Sönmez was arrested by the court he was brought before. It was established that the father of the murdered siblings, Uğur Şimşek, has been missing for 5 years and the last person he met in Ankara was Hüseyin Sönmez.
REQUEST FOR 2 TIMES AGGRAVATED LIFE SENTENCE
In the indictment prepared by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the incident, it was requested that the defendant Sönmez be sentenced to two times aggravated life imprisonment for the crimes of 'Intentional murder with premeditation, with monstrous feelings or by inflicting torture' against Melisa Şimşek, and 'Intentional murder with premeditation, with monstrous feelings or by inflicting torture' against Umutcan Şimşek. Additionally, it was requested that the defendant be punished for 'Theft by taking advantage of the death of a person in a chain manner at night and regarding items kept under protection in a building', for 'Qualifying violation of residence immunity and damage to property' against mother Ayşegül Şimşek, and for 'Violation of Law No. 6136' against the public, and that he should not benefit from good behavior reduction.
The trial of the detained defendant Hüseyin Sönmez continued at the Sivas 4th High Criminal Court. The defendant Hüseyin Sönmez participated in the hearing via the SEGBİS method from Elazığ No. 1 High Security Prison, where he was detained. The grandmother of the murdered children, Aniş Yücekaya, their mother Ayşegül Şimşek, and their lawyers were present in the courtroom.
VIDEOS WERE SHOWN
During the hearing, the defendant Hüseyin Sönmez stated that he repeated his previous statements given to the police and the prosecutor's office, as well as the written defenses he submitted to the court, and claimed that he did not commit the alleged crime. Sönmez said, "I did not commit the murders. I was set up. I did not harm anyone."
The court panel asked whether the person who entered the building wearing glasses and a mask was him by showing the footage obtained by the police after the incident, as well as images of the suspect in the market and mosque fountain. The defendant Sönmez stated that he did not recognize the person who entered the building but admitted that the person in the market and fountain was him. He said that he changed clothes at the fountain and that the clothes he left by the trash could have been taken by those who set him up and that he could have entered the building wearing those clothes.
CLAIM OF "THEY TOOK MY DNA SAMPLES"
In response to the question of who set him up, the defendant stated that the father of the murdered Umutcan and Melisa Şimşek, who has been missing since 2020, Uğur Şimşek, had defrauded him, suggesting that there might be someone related to this. When asked about the DNA samples found on the plastic handcuffs that bound the murdered Şimşek siblings, he claimed that people who came to his house two weeks before the incident introduced themselves as police officers and took DNA samples, which could be part of the setup.
"I WANT RETRIBUTION"
Speaking in court, Ayşegül Şimşek, the mother of the murdered children, who came wearing a t-shirt with the photos of her children printed on it, stated that the defendant also has 3 children and said, "Let them put the bodies of his 2 children in front of him; let's see what he will feel? I want retribution, I want justice." At that moment, Ayşegül Şimşek's relatives, who were present in the courtroom to observe the trial, could not hold back their tears.
THE HEARING WAS ADJOURNED TO OCTOBER 13
Later, the public prosecutor read his opinion regarding the defendant and requested a sentence of 2 times aggravated life imprisonment. He also requested that the defendant be punished for all charges without the exercise of discretion. When asked for his final words, the defendant Hüseyin Sönmez stated that he was innocent and requested his release, or to be placed under judicial control or house arrest. The defendant also stated that he came to the hearing voluntarily from the mental health hospital where he was being treated and requested the court to decide on his treatment in a fully equipped hospital if his request for release was denied, and also requested time to submit a written defense. The court panel accepted the request for a written defense, rejected the other requests, and decided to continue the defendant's detention, adjourning the hearing to October 13.
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