"Beat & Release": 44 Stabs Somehow Doesn't Qualify as "Monstrous Savagery"

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 23 April 2021)

          Birthday extra - one more stab wound than her age.

Ersin Kormaz (44) and Nurgül Boz (43) began living together 7 years

ago in Ümraniye, Istanbul, and their daughter is now a six-years-old. 

Korkmaz went to prison for a crime but was released on leave because

of the COVID pandemic.  

On 10 April the couple got into an argument sparked by jealousy and

Korkmaz stabbed Nurgül hanım 44 times (!) with a kitchen knife, 

killing her.  In his statement to police, Korkman said he suspected that

Nurgül hanım had cheated on him.  The public prosecutor, though, 

suspected that Korkmaz said this to try to get a reduced sentence.  So,

he charged Korkmaz with "murder with monstrous savagery" and 

asked the court for the most extreme life sentence.

Facing the court, Korkmaz explained that "I beat my wife a couple of

times before.  That day, I was suspicious of some phone messages she

received.  We fought and I began to stab her with a knife I grabbed 

from the kitchen.  I don't remember how many times I stabbed her."

The court committee decided that Kormaz had not killed Nurgül 

hanım with "monstrous savagery" and gave him a life sentence for

only "murder with intent". (!)