08.12.2025 15:06
The sentence of Delil Aysal (19), who killed taxi driver Oğuz Erge (44) with a gun to prevent him from freezing in the cold and robbed him of his mobile phone and headphones, was upheld by the Court of Cassation. Aysal was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and 17 years and 8 months in prison.
In İzmir, the life sentence without parole and 17 years and 8 months in prison given to Delil Aysal (19), who shot and killed taxi driver Oğuz Erge (44) with a gun to prevent him from freezing and then robbed him of his cell phone and headphones, was upheld by the Court of Cassation.
ROBBED HIS CELL PHONE AFTER SHOOTING THE TAXI DRIVER
The incident occurred on February 1 of last year at around 03:30 in the Gaziemir district. Masked and hooded, Delil Aysal got into the taxi driven by Oğuz Erge, a married father of two. After driving the taxi to various addresses for a while, Aysal pretended to take money from his pocket and pulled out the gun. Delil Aysal shot taxi driver Erge. Afterward, Aysal rummaged through the taxi and the driver's pockets, stole Oğuz Erge's headphones and cell phone, and fled. Upon hearing the gunshot, nearby residents alerted the authorities, and health teams arrived at the scene, transporting Erge to İzmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital by ambulance. Despite all efforts by the doctors, Oğuz Erge could not be saved. The police launched an investigation into the incident, examining footage from the taxi's camera and approximately 70 security cameras in the area. It was determined that the suspect was Delil Aysal, who was caught the day after the incident at the house where he was hiding. Aysal, who was taken into custody, was arrested by the court he was brought to after his processing at the police station.
THE VEHICLE CAMERA RECORDED
The footage from the vehicle camera, which recorded the incident moment by moment, showed Delil Aysal pretending to take money from his pocket and shooting taxi driver Erge, who fell limp onto the passenger seat. The footage also captured Aysal slapping the injured Oğuz Erge and searching for something on him and in the taxi before fleeing.
CALLED THE TAXI DRIVER'S DAUGHTER AFTER THE INCIDENT
After the investigation, a case was filed against Delil Aysal at the 10th Heavy Penal Court for 'Qualified Intentional Murder', 'Qualified Robbery', and 'Carrying an Unlicensed Firearm'. The indictment included a summary of the incident, the defendant's defense, and the statements of the murdered taxi driver's daughter, N.E. (16), as well as dialogues recorded by the vehicle camera in the taxi. In his statement, defendant Delil Aysal mentioned that he felt overwhelmed due to difficulties he faced with his family and said he went out to kill himself. Aysal stated that he could not remember from whom he obtained the gun used in the incident, and he said, "I wanted to pay the taxi fare with a credit card. However, the taxi driver said the POS device was out of charge. I offered to pay later, but he replied, 'You need to pay now.'" Aysal explained that he acted in a moment of anger and added, "After going a little further, I regretted and turned back. I took the taxi driver's phone and called the number saved as 'my daughter' to explain the situation. I did not call 112."
HAD HIS HEAD COVERED WITH A HOOD AND A MASK ON HIS FACE
Delil Aysal also mentioned in his statement that he took the phone and wireless headphones from the taxi, stating that he was wearing a mask during the incident due to his sensitivity to dust and that he collected the casings to eliminate evidence. N.E., Erge's daughter, stated in her testimony, "I received a call from my father's phone. When I answered, an unfamiliar man said, 'Your father is in a taxi behind Migros, behind Gaziemir Municipality. He is seriously injured, call an ambulance, I can't call.' Then he hung up."
In the prosecutor's assessment of the incident, it was noted that Aysal had his head covered with a hood and his face masked, which could prevent him from being recognized at the time of the crime. It was stated that Oğuz Erge was shot with an unlicensed gun and that the cell phone and wireless headphones belonging to the victim, who was unable to defend himself, were robbed, indicating that the suspect committed the crimes of qualified murder, qualified robbery, and carrying an unlicensed firearm.
LIFE SENTENCE WITHOUT PAROLE AND 17 YEARS 8 MONTHS IN PRISON
The final hearing of the case was held on March 8, 2024. The court sentenced defendant Aysal to life imprisonment without parole for 'Qualified Murder', 14 years and 10 months for 'Qualified Robbery', and 2 years and 10 months for 'Carrying an Unlicensed Firearm', totaling 17 years and 8 months in prison. No reductions were made in the sentence given to Delil Aysal.
The defendant's lawyer appealed the decision to the appellate court last February. The İzmir Regional Court of Justice's 24th Criminal Chamber reviewed the appeal. The chamber concluded that there were no procedural or substantive legal violations in the local court's decision and that there were no deficiencies, rejecting the appeal. This time, the defendant's lawyer took the decision to the Court of Cassation.
'IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WERE NO OTHER RULINGS THAT COULD BE APPLIED IN FAVOR OF THE DEFENDANT'
The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation stated that both the court process was conducted in accordance with the procedure and that the evidence was sufficient and lawful. In the Court of Cassation's ruling, it was emphasized that the qualifications of the crime were correctly determined, that the value deficiency ruling in the robbery crime did not apply in this specific case, and that the discretionary reduction was not applied by the court with legal, appropriate, and sufficient justifications, and it was concluded that there were no other rulings that could be applied in favor of the defendant. Thus, the Court of Cassation rejected the appeal and upheld the previously given decision.