"Beat & Release": Deadly "Honey Trap", in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 10 August 2023)

                                     Poison honey.

Murat Arpapay (57) lived in Istanbul but he was born in England and

spent his youth there, coming to Turkey in the mid-1990s to live in his

family's home in Istanbul's Bahçelievler district.  His family in England

regularly sent him money for his expenses and he had a comfortable life.

Arpapay frequented the café owned by Ersen Başak, who, when Arpapay

told him about the money he received from his family, hatched a heinous

plan.  Başak enlisted "escort girls" Muhterem Perçikli (19) and Serpil 

Demir into his plan and had them flirt with Arpapay in the café.  Arpapay

took the bait and on the night of 26 July, he and Muhterem hanınm went

to a flat in Şirinevler.  

However (!), waiting at the flat were Başak and his goons.  They 

handcuffed Arpapay, beat him and knocked him senseless with ether. 

Then they injected chemicals into his blood stream, killing him.  

Meanwhile, Başak went to Arpapay's home and stole all his money.  

Lastly, Arpapay's body was thrown down an empty shaft in the building 

where he met with Muhterem hanım. 

Responding to a report of a dead body, police came to the scene the next

morning and noticed that there were none of the usual signs of murder, 

like stab or gunshot wounds.  Arpapay's body was taken to the police 

forensic lab where it was determined that some substance had been 

injected into him.  A review of camera footage led police to identify 

Başak, Doğan Sarıyıldız, Fatih Erginoğlu, along with Muhterem hanım 

and Serpil hanım, as murder suspects. 

Police learned that Muhterem hanım ran away from her family in Mersin

two years ago.  Her mother Telime Karaca appeared on a TV program,

saying that her daughter had gotten involved with drugs and was 

kidnapped.  After the program was aired, Muhterem hanım called her 

mother and returned home. 

Başak fled to Georgia and Sarıyıldız and Erginoğlu went to northern 

Cyprus.  The two women were jailed and an Interpol "red bulletin" has 

been issued with regard to the other three suspects.