05.11.2026 16:30
It was determined by a Forensic Medicine report that Emine N.Ö., the mother of the baby who was found dead in a garbage container in Kocaeli in 2007 with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck, and who was identified through fingerprints at the scene and caught last year, was mentally sound. The defendant, who is being tried for intentional homicide with a request for aggravated life imprisonment, had her detention ordered to continue, and the hearing was postponed.
In the case of the baby found dead 19 years ago in Kocaeli in a garbage container with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck, it was determined by report that the detained mother on trial was mentally sound. The court panel decided to wait for the requested document regarding the possibility that the baby was stillborn and the accuracy of the first autopsy report, and to continue the defendant's detention.
In the incident that occurred on May 27, 2007 in Yahyakaptan Neighborhood of İzmit district, the dead baby with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck was found thrown into a garbage container. Within the scope of efforts to shed light on unsolved incidents, it was determined that the baby's mother was Emine N.Ö. Teams from the Homicide Bureau Office of the Public Order Branch Directorate of Kocaeli Police Department caught the suspect in an operation held in Sapanca district of Sakarya on November 18, 2025. The captured suspect was referred to the courthouse after DNA matching procedures at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute Directorate. Emine N.Ö. was arrested by the judicial authorities she was referred to and sent to prison. It was learned that the suspect's identity was determined based on fingerprint evidence found at the scene in 2007.
FINGERPRINT GAVE HER AWAY YEARS LATER
REPORT SAYS MENTAL HEALTH SOUND
Emine N.Ö., who is being tried for intentional killing and faces aggravated life imprisonment, appeared before the judge again at Kocaeli 4th Heavy Penal Court. While the detained defendant attended the hearing via SEGBIS, her lawyer Uğur Gökkoyun and the lawyer appointed as trustee, Ayşe Pınar Eren, were present in the courtroom. The court panel stated that the defendant experienced acute dissociation and dissociative amnesia, and that whether her mental health was sound was evaluated by the 4th Specialization Department of the Forensic Medicine Institute. In the report received, the court president read that the defendant's mental balance was sound. The court stated that the requested document regarding the possibility that the baby was stillborn and the accuracy of the first autopsy report had still not arrived and was being examined. The defendant requested her release or house arrest.
The court panel decided to continue the defendant's detention and to adjourn the hearing.
DEFENDANT: I WAS NOT AWARE THAT I WAS PREGNANT
At the first hearing of the case on April 14, 2026, the defendant Emine N.Ö. had said: "At that time I had psychological traumas. Because of this, I was not aware that I was pregnant. There was no change in my body, my stomach had not swollen. My menstrual calendar was regular. I did not experience nausea either. On the day of the incident, I went to the toilet with very severe abdominal pain. While I was in the toilet, I had excessive bleeding. Blood makes me faint. Situations that I remember blurrily occurred. I encountered a situation I did not understand. A hard object fell from me; when I saw the baby's head, I fainted. When I woke up, the baby was in my arms and was stiff. I did not hear the baby cry. I hit the baby's back for first aid. I do not remember the condition of the cord when the baby came out. I do not remember how our separation from the baby happened. At that time I had fallen into psychological depression, and I was also using medication for it. I do not remember very clearly, but I may have been under the influence of alcohol at that time. I did not see the cord around the baby's neck, I do not remember."