"Beat & Release": Another Woman's "Assisted Suicide"; Lots of (!)'s in Killler's Story, in Ankara

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 December 2023)

"Enough about her. I have a bridge I'd like to sell you."

In the case concerning the suspicious death of lawyer Belen Nesil 

Çoşğun, the suspect changed his statement in court, saying that it was

he who accidently pressed the KADES (app to call police for threatened 

women) button. (!)

Lawyer Belen Nesil Çoşğun (22) was having a romantic relationship

with Muhammet Balcı, the married father of one and the owner of a

hotel in Kahramanmaraş.  On 15 June the couple stayed in a flat in Ankara

but the young woman was found dead by a gunshot in the morning. 

In the related indictment, it is stated that on the morning of the incident,

the couple argued, prompting Belen Nesil hanım to press the KADES 

button three times and prompting Balcı to shoot her dead. The indictment

reads: "the deceased pressed the KADES button at 10:41:55, 10:42:11 and

10:42:30."  Consequently, Balcı was charged with "intentional murder of

a woman", calling for a life sentence in jail, and "possession of an 

unlicensed gun", which tacks on another 3 years (!). 

In his statement to the public prosecutor Balcı explained: "We woke up

together in the bed we slept in.  Then I went to the bathroom and from 

there I heard a gunshot coming from the bedroom. When I went to the

bedroom I saw that she had killed herself." (!) 

But in court the day before yesterday, Balcı changed his statement,

saying this time: "She showed me photos of her ex-boyfriend and the

threatening messages he sent her.  At this point I said 'I want you to go'."

Balcı added that he wanted their relationship to end so they argued and

slept in separate rooms.  As for the matter of the KADES button, Balcı

said "I pressed it by mistake". (!)

                 "I accidently (!) pressed it 3 times."

The owner of the flat A.Ş. stated as a witness in the trial that "the suspect

said to my girlfriend before the incident that 'Belen is talking with people

I don't want her talking with. That's why I'm going to kill her.'"  (!)

Another piece of evidence was introduced to the court by the suspect, to 

the effect that Belen Nesil hanım committed suicide in the bedroom but

if so there should have been no traces of gunfire elsewhere in the flat. 

However (!), according to the police report, traces of gunfire were found

in another bathroom of the flat.  Belen Nesil hanım's family's lawyer

Mehmet Rifat Bacanlı stated that "finding traces of gunfire in the flat's

other bathroom is not normal.  It shows that the suspect washed his 

hands in the other bathroom after shooting her.  If Belen Nesil had killed

herself in the bedroom there would be no traces of gunfire elsewhere in

the flat."

His new book.  He's a myth expert...