24.06.2026 10:31
The murder of a person whose body could not be found in Mersin was uncovered through the meticulous months-long work of JASAT teams. While the victim's identity was determined via DNA samples obtained from blood traces at the scene, the defendant was sentenced to a total of 29 years and 2 months in prison, despite the body not being found, thanks to footage of the stolen gold chains being sold and technical evidence.
In Kargıpınarı Mahallesi, a neighborhood of Erdemli district in Mersin, between May 25-26 last year, in a 3-story building with rough construction completed, according to allegations, suspect N.Ö. (48), who was doing plaster work, called the building owner V.U. early in the morning and asked him to come to a designated point. There, N.Ö. told V.U., "There is a corpse in your building, with a note saying 'I am V.U.'s bricklayer, he killed me for not paying my money,' and I will dispose of the corpse for 100,000 TL." Panicked and scared, V.U. first informed his family, then the gendarmerie. Upon the instruction of the Mersin and Erdemli Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices, the Provincial Gendarmerie Command's Erdemli Gendarmerie Crime Investigation Team (JASAT) went to the address but could not find the corpse; however, they noticed blood stains on certain materials and clothes in specific places. Through meticulous work by crime scene investigation teams, everything that could serve as a clue was evaluated and samples were taken.
CORPSE NOT FOUND, DNA LED TO FAMILY LINEAGE Despite searching many wells and spots in the area near the house, the corpse could not be found. Blood samples taken from the scene were sent to the Ankara Criminal Department. In the DNA and lineage analysis, it was determined that the blood on the trowel and napkin at the scene belonged to suspect N.Ö. On the backpack and a work uniform, blood was found belonging to a different person who had never worked at that construction site. To identify this person, lineage was traced from the DNA. The lineage identified a family living in Kahramanmaraş. In a meeting with the family's child O.K., JASAT teams learned that no one was missing except their father İbrahim K. (57), whom they had not seen for 6 years and whose whereabouts they did not know. Upon this, detectives determined that the person N.Ö. killed was İbrahim K., who lived in Mersin. It was determined that İbrahim K.'s phone had a last call with N.Ö. lasting 57 seconds, after which both SIM cards gave signals in the same area. Field research revealed that İbrahim K. had not been coming home for a while and was wearing two gold chains around his neck.
İbrahim K., believed to have been killed THREW THE MURDERED PERSON'S PHONE IN THE TRASH AND SOLD THE GOLD Collecting many pieces of evidence, including camera records of the area, gendarmerie teams determined that one of the places the murder suspect went after the incident was the area where gold dealers are located in Mersin. Investigations revealed that the suspect sold two gold chains of the person believed to have been killed to a gold dealer for 121 TL. Upon the instruction of the Erdemli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the suspect was arrested by JASAT teams and taken to the Erdemli Courthouse, where he was remanded in custody by the court.
LANDMARK RULING: CONVICTED FOR MURDER A case was filed against murder suspect N.Ö. at the Mersin Courthouse 6th Heavy Penal Court for the crime of 'Intentional Homicide'. In the trial held recently, the suspect did not accept the charges. Defending himself, the suspect stated that he met with the victim, that he broke and threw away the phone given to him because it was faulty, and that the gold belonged to him, adding that even his wife did not know about the gold.
In his opinion, the prosecutor requested that the suspect be punished for 'Intentional Homicide' and 'Qualified Theft' based on all evidence in the file.
The court panel, although the corpse was not found in searches, accepted that İbrahim K. was killed and announced that they sentenced the suspect to 25 years for the crime of 'Intentional Homicide' and 4 years and 2 months in prison for the crime of 'Qualified Theft' due to theft from the dead body.
In addition to the total sentence of 29 years and 2 months without a corpse, identifying the victim's identity through lineage from blood-stained DNA set a precedent.
"A CONVICTION CAN BE GIVEN WITHOUT A CORPSE" Commenting on the incident, 33-year legal expert lawyer Ali Kater said, "A conviction can be given without a corpse. If there are clear, convincing, and explanatory evidence free from any doubt that clearly demonstrates the crime, there is no need to find the corpse. The absence of a corpse does not result in the suspect not being punished. In fact, the file shows that the suspect sold the necklace of the murdered person. Additionally, the suspect admits that the victim gave him the phone and he broke it. Furthermore, the suspect's wife claims there was no gold belonging to the suspect. Also, the blood traces and DNA tests found two blood samples at the scene. One belongs to the suspect, the other to the victim. Through research on the victim's blood, the victim's hometown and family were found. So, a very meticulous and serious investigation was conducted; the police should be congratulated, the judiciary should be congratulated, and the prosecutor should be congratulated," he said.
Kater also noted that the principle of 'in dubio pro reo' (benefit of the doubt) might come to mind, stating, "We have a rule that if there is no 100% certainty that the suspect is guilty in a file, the suspect should be acquitted. But here, evidence that is 100% certain and reliable regarding the suspect's guilt appears to have been presented. In my opinion, the sentence given to the suspect is appropriate," he shared his views.