More information is coming to light following the discovery yesterday morning of the lifeless body of Narin Güran, the girl that went missing in southeast Turkey, and the arrest in the last few hours of several of her relatives, including her parents and two older brothers; and everything points to the fact that this could be a heinous crime in which a whole family could be involved in the murder of the little girl, who was only 8 years old.
According to information revealed by the news director of CNN Türk in Istanbul, Nihat Uludağ, and published by the Turkish daily Hürriyet, the WhatsApp messages deleted by Narin’s uncle, Salim Güran, who has been detained since 2 September after traces of the girl’s DNA were found in his car, would implicate several members of the family, hence the arrests carried out by the gendarmerie in the last few hours, which include her two parents.
‘The whole family deleted his messages and calls’
Uludağ, who reportedly had access to the investigation reports, claims that Narin’s murder ‘was a domestic crime’ surrounded by lies in which Salim, the girl’s uncle and also the muhtar (village head) of the village, appeared to be the main architect of a plot in which more family members were actually involved.
‘It has been said that Narin’s uncle deleted all call logs and WhatsApp messages from her phone. But there are reports that some of Narin’s family members also deleted the call history and messages. The only person who did not delete them was the girl’s father,’ he said.
‘Interestingly, the entire family deleted her call history and WhatsApp messages. If only the uncle had done it, it would have some logic; but the fact that the mother, her brother and other family members deleted the WhatsApp messages, raises great suspicions. What kind of messages were there about Narin’s death that led so many members of her family to delete her messages and calls?’ wondered Uludağ.
Autopsy revelations
The CNN Türk news director also referred to the autopsy, which was completed last night after 11 hours and to whose preliminary report he has had access; Uludağ claims that an injury was detected on the girl’s neck and a fracture in one of her legs: ‘They put all the important things in that bag (in which they put Narin in the river). No visible marks of sharp objects (causing injuries) have been found’.
‘There are large signs of displacement on his body. I have the impression that Narin may have been beaten. Narin’s murder was a domestic crime,’ Uludağ said, adding that “Narin’s body was not handed over to the family” by the Institute of Forensic Medicine, due to suspicions about the crime. Many media outlets have also echoed the fact that Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also did not offer his condolences to the family – as is usual after such an event – when announcing via social media that the girl’s body had been found.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has also referred to Narin’s murder, saying that he is personally following the case and the investigation underway, and that he will ensure that the girl’s killers receive the harshest possible punishment. Also his wife Emine Erdoğan shared a message via social media in which she showed her ‘confidence that the murderers who took Narin’s life will be brought to justice as soon as possible’.
One of the detainees confesses: ‘He gave me the bag to get rid of the body’
Meanwhile, the investigation into Narin’s crime took a new turn in the last hours with the confession made by a person who, allegedly, would be the material author of hiding the girl’s body after her death.
In statements exclusively reported by the Turkish daily Sabah, one of the 24 people arrested so far for the murder of Narin Güran, whose name remains secret, reportedly confessed that ‘the muhtar (Narin’s uncle) gave me the body in a sack. I took it and carried it to the river’.
The detainee claims that at first he refused to do what Salim Güran asked him to do in order to hide the crime, but that he finally agreed when the muhtar threatened him with a gun and offered him 200,000 liras (approx. 5,300 euros) in exchange for taking the girl’s body. According to the daily Sabah, inside the bag hidden in the river the girl’s left leg was found torn off at the knee, and the remains were sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Istanbul for examination.
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
