Two people had been sentenced to life imprisonment! The verdict was overturned, the case of the murder without a body started from scratch.

Adana'da 11 years ago, Savaş Sanatma (42) and Ersin Yalçınkaya (48), who were sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly strangling Zeynep Söğüt (33) and throwing her body in a suitcase into a riverbed, and Nazlı Tuğlucan (44), who was sentenced to 3 years in prison, had their sentences overturned by the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Adana Regional Court of Justice on the grounds that there was insufficient investigation. The trial of the Zeynep Söğüt case, in which the body has not been found so far, has started again.

Savaş Sanatma, who lived with Zeynep Söğüt in the TOKİ houses in Yeşiloba neighborhood, went to the police on December 23, 2013, and reported that Zeynep, with whom he lived unmarried, left the house while he was at work and never returned. The prosecutor decided not to prosecute on December 31, 2013, upon the missing person application.

THEY APPEARED ON TV PROGRAMS TO FIND THEIR DAUGHTERS

Zeynep Söğüt's mother, Arbiye Ballı, also went to the Sarıçam Police Station on December 27, 2013, and reported that she could not hear from her daughter, she was worried about her life, she might have been killed, and she last lived with Savaş Sanatma and suspected him. Upon the complaint of Mother Ballı, Sanatma was questioned as an informant. Sanatma stated that they lived together with Zeynep Söğüt for 8-9 months, she applied for missing person when she disappeared, and she informed her parents as well. The Söğüt family appeared on television programs on November 21, 2018, and told that they could not hear from their daughter. Savaş Sanatma also participated in the program by phone and said that he could not hear from his girlfriend.

THE CASE WAS REOPENED

The Homicide Bureau teams reopened the missing case file in 2020, considering that Zeynep Söğüt may have been killed. Statements of dozens of people were taken regarding Söğüt's disappearance, security camera footage and mobile phone records were examined. Based on the information obtained, Savaş Sanatma, his friend Ersin Yalçınkaya, and his relative Nazlı Tuğlucan, who worked as a florist, were captured and detained on the allegation that they killed Zeynep Söğüt.

"I STRANGLED ZEYNEP IN THE BEDROOM"

In their interrogations, Savaş Sanatma stated that Ersin Yalçınkaya killed Zeynep, saying, "Ersin stayed with us overnight. I woke up early in the morning on December 24, 2013, and Ersin was already awake. Zeynep was sleeping. I said to Ersin, 'Sit down, I'll get hot pita bread and we'll have breakfast together.' When I came back home after buying bread, Ersin opened the door. When I saw that there were bleeding marks on both of his arms and part of his face due to nail scratches, I asked what happened. He said, 'Don't make a sound, I strangled Zeynep in the bedroom, we struggled, Zeynep got me into this state with her nails.' When I opened the door of the bedroom, Zeynep was lying motionless on the bed," he said.

THEY ACCUSED EACH OTHER

Later, the defendant Sanatma claimed that they placed Zeynep's body in a suitcase and put it in the trunk of a taxi, and they went to the riverbed in Bürücük Plateau in Pozantı in two cars led by Nazlı Tuğlucan. Ersin Yalçınkaya, on the other hand, claimed in his statement to the police that Savaş Sanatma killed Zeynep Söğüt. Nazlı Tuğlucan admitted that they threw the suitcase into the river in Pozantı without knowing that there was a body inside and claimed to be innocent. The 3 suspects were arrested on charges of "premeditated murder."

THE BODY WAS NOT FOUND

The police conducted a search with a cadaver dog in the area indicated by the suspects to find Zeynep Söğüt's body. A suitcase was found in the designated area, and stones were found inside. Bones were found in the expanded search. The analysis revealed that the bone fragments belonged to an animal, not a human.

THE TRIAL BEGAN

A trial was filed against Savaş Sanatma, Ersin Yalçınkaya, and Nazlı Tuğlucan, who were accused of killing Zeynep Söğüt, whose body could not be found, on charges of "premeditated murder" at the Adana 6th Heavy Penal Court.

THEY CHANGED THEIR TESTIMONIES IN COURT

In the court where they were tried, the defendants Savaş Sanatma, Ersin Yalçınkaya, and Nazlı Tuğlucan, who described in detail the killing of Zeynep Söğüt in their interrogations at the police and prosecutor's office, changed their testimonies. Ersin Yalçınkaya denied the charges, saying, "I do not accept the statement I gave at the police station, despite saying that I have no involvement or connection, they tortured me at the police station. I had undergone stomach surgery on the date of the incident, I had lost a lot of weight, I was not feeling well, it is not possible for me to commit this crime." Savaş Sanatma also denied the charges, saying that he gave his statement under psychological pressure and fear at the police and prosecutor's office.

"SHE LEFT WITH THE SUITCASE, WHEN SHE CAME BACK, THE SUITCASE WAS GONE"

The defendant Nazlı Tuğlucan stated that they went to Pozantı with Savaş and Ersin and said, "Ersin took out a dark-colored suitcase from the back of the taxi. He walked away with the suitcase from where we were. He came back after 10 minutes, he didn't have the suitcase in his hand. Meanwhile, Savaş was kneeling and trembling. Ersin said, 'You will not tell anyone what you saw here.' I asked many times what was inside the suitcase, but he didn't say anything," she said. The defense lawyers also stated that Zeynep Söğüt could still be alive and requested the acquittal of their clients.

SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT

The court sentenced the detained defendants Savaş Sanatma and Ersin Yalçınkaya to life imprisonment for the crime of "intentional killing," and Nazlı Tuğlucan, who was released during the trial, to 3 years in prison for the crime of "concealing and destroying evidence."

THE DECISION WAS OVERTURNED

The lawyers of the defendants appealed the decision. The 4th Criminal Chamber of the Adana Regional Court of Justice overturned the decision, stating that there was insufficient investigation, and ordered a retrial for the defendants.This development led to the reopening of the case in the 6th Heavy Penal Court of Adana. The hearing was attended by the detained defendants Savaş Sanatma and Ersin Yalçınkaya, as well as Arbiye Ballı, the mother of the deceased Zeynep Söğüt, and the lawyers of the parties. The defendants stated that they repeated their previous defenses and did not accept the allegations against them. Arbiye Ballı demanded that the defendants be punished severely.

THE POLICE INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT WERE HEARD

Later, the police officers who conducted the investigation regarding the incident were heard. Police officer Z. G. stated that the defendant Savaş Sanatma told them that they put Zeynep Söğüt's body in a suitcase and threw it in Pozantı, and that he could show them the location.

Police officer E. Z., who stated that the Zeynep Söğüt case was his own case, said that they brought the defendant Nazlı Tuğlucan, who was in Erzurum at the time, to the police station and said the following:

"Nazlı Tuğlucan told the friends who detained her that Ersin Yalçınkaya killed Zeynep Söğüt, put her in a car, and took her to Pozantı with two vehicles. When we talked to Savaş Sanatma before taking his statement, he told us that he went to the bakery to buy bread on the day of the incident, and when he returned home, he found Zeynep dead in the bedroom and Ersin told him that he killed Zeynep and that they needed to get rid of the body. He said that they went to Pozantı, Ersin took the suitcase with the body and told us not to come with them, and then he came back without the suitcase. Then we took Ersin Yalçınkaya to show us the location. Each time, Ersin took us to a certain point and said, 'I don't remember the rest.' The last time we went, he showed us a place, and a little below the place he showed us, we found a suitcase with stones inside, and the suitcase was broken. The 3 defendants said that this was the suitcase" he said.

The court board decided to continue the detention of the detained defendants and adjourned the hearing for the testimony of the remaining witnesses and the forced appearance of the defendant Nazlı Tuğlucan.