Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
A former sergeant of the Turkish Army has been arrested for strangling his wife and two teen children to death with his bare hands.
Turgay Mert, 47, an ex-sergeant in the Turkish Army whose contract was terminated six months ago due to bad behaviour, called his neighbour, identified as H. A. in the district of Iskenderun in the Turkish province of Hatay on 29th September.
He said: “The key to my apartment is in the mailbox. Get the key, go inside, but you will face very nasty things. Don’t let anyone know. Just look at it.”
H. A. called the suspect back, but could not reach him. Seeing that the lights in the apartment were on, she called Turgay Mert’s wife, Aynur Mert, 41.
When the wife failed to answer the phone, she went to the police station and explained the situation.
Police officers, firefighters, and medical teams were then sent to the address.
The Iskenderun District Police team entered the apartment on the third floor with the key found in the mailbox.
Officers then encountered the dead bodies of Aynur and her children Aleyna Mert, 16, and Ahmet Ali Mert, 14, lying side by side with the Turkish flag over them. Turgay Mert’s military uniform was also found folded neatly on a seat next to the corpses.
The bodies were sent to Adana Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy after a preliminary investigation at the scene.
Turgay Mert was identified as a suspect and was arrested in the city of Osmaniye before being taken back to Iskenderun for questioning.
He reportedly admitted to strangling his wife with his bare hands during an argument, adding: “Then I waited for my son Ahmet Ali, who is a student at Iskenderun Demir Celik Anatolian High School, to come home.
“When he arrived, I gave him buttermilk, in which I put sleeping pills. He didn’t want to drink it and said ‘Dad, this is bitter’. I strangled him to death as well.
“Later, I waited for my daughter, who was studying in the same high school. When my daughter came home, I strangled her too. After killing them all, I fled to Osmaniye”, he was quoted as saying.
Aynur Mert and her children Aleyna Mert and Ahmet Ali Mert were buried side by side in Osmaniye.
The investigation continues.