There has been a new development in the case regarding the discovery of Duygu Bölükbaş's lifeless body hanging on a towel rack at her home in Izmir. The acquittal of her boyfriend, who claimed his girlfriend's death was “suicide”, has been overturned.
There is a new development in the case related to the death of Duygu Bölükbaş, who was found dead in Izmir.
The 4th Criminal Chamber of the Izmir Regional Court of Justice reviewed the file over the objections of the Izmir Chief Prosecutor's Office and the Bölükbaş family (33).
The jury's decision clearly stated that on the cover of the appraisal report, it was written that the phone of defendant Emre T.'s boyfriend had been searched, but the content was understood to be that the phone that was searched belonged to the victim.
LACK OF REVIEW
Considering the position of the bed sheet, the towel rack and the sink base on which Bölükbaş was hanging, it was noted that it was necessary to evaluate the absence of impact ecchymoses (a type of bleeding under the skin due to damage to capillaries) in the victim's hips, waist and legs, and it was noted that it was appropriate to send the bed sheet to the Istanbul Institute of Forensic Medicine and make a judgment without receiving a report on whether death could have occurred in this way if The victim hanging himself on a towel rack is an incomplete investigation
CAMERA RECORDING IS REQUIRED FROM THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT BOARD
The decision clearly stated that the recorded camera contained a number of images of the defendant and the victim obtained by the scene management board, but there was no time to record images in front of the apartment door and all camera recordings starting from 4:00 p.m. on the same day of the incident must be requested by the scene management board and the defendant's defense must be checked with these records.
It was stated that it is necessary to clarify the time of the witnesses' phone conversations with the victim, records of Bölükbaş's calls after 12:00 on the day of the incident must be re-examined by an expert, and all phone recordings and camera images must be presented to the expert and the chronological development of the incident.
In the decision, it was explained that no ruling had been made on certain evidence recorded in the judicial trust and that the decision to keep the blood and nail samples on file rather than destroy them was inconsistent with the nature of the trusts.
The Chamber ruled that the decision of the first instance court was unlawful due to these shortcomings and decided to annul the decision and send the case to the Izmir 3rd High Criminal Court for reconsideration and ruling.
The court held that the decision to acquit ST, the aunt of the remaining defendant, Emre T., was legal.
EXTREME SUICIDE
Duygu Bölükbaş was found hanging from a sheet on a towel bar in the bathroom of the house where she lived with her boyfriend Emre T. on November 3, 2022. Emre T. and aunt ST, who took statements, said that Bölükbaş committed suicide.
In the report received from the Biological Expertise Department of the Izmir Forensic Branch Directorate within the scope of the investigation, it was stated that Emre T.'s DNA was found in Bölükbaş's nail samples and T-shirt, and Emre T. was subsequently arrested on March 22, 2024.
The indictment prepared by the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor, demanding an aggravated life sentence for the defendant for “intentional murder of a woman” and imprisonment of up to 4 years for the defendant's aunt ST for “false testimony”, was accepted by the 3rd High Criminal Court of Izmir.
At the trial on May 30, 2025, the court still acquitted ST and Emre T. due to lack of evidence and the decision was challenged by the appeal.
