A man arrested for killing a mum of seven when he stole her jewellery, purse, and mobile phone 21 years ago is to avoid jail because the statute of limitations expired last year.

A shepherd grazing his animals on Mount Yilanli in Kayseri, central Turkey, in May spotted bone fragments in a dried-up well and informed police.

Police and firemen were dispatched to the area and descended into the 10-metre-deep well to retrieve the remains, also finding a handbag.

An identity document inside the handbag showed that the remains belonged to Turkish woman Ayse Kavak, who went missing 21 years ago.

After an autopsy determined that the 47-year-old was likely murdered, police launched an investigation to identify her killer.

They found that Ayse’s mobile phone had been taken and the SIM card replaced.

All the evidence reportedly pointed to a man identified in local reports only as M. A. as the prime suspect. He was working as a shepherd at the time of the alleged crime.

The 55-year-old was arrested at his home on 4th November and taken into custody. He denied committing the murder.

It emerged that he had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for knifing a person to death in 1988, in addition to 21 other offences on his criminal record.

He is believed to have killed Ayse in 2001 – a year after his release from prison – in order to steal her jewellery, purse, and mobile phone.

But shortly after his latest arrest, powerless officials were only able to release him, as the statute of limitations for that case had expired.

Had he been caught just one year earlier, he would have been charged with her murder.

After Ayse’s disappearance, husband Halil Kavak devoted his life to searching for her.

He remained optimistic that he would one day find her until his death in 2012.

Netizens criticised Turkish police, with one writing online: “How did they manage to not find anything for 20 years when there was a mobile phone in use?”

M. A. will remain a free man.