GUILTY Turkey - Sarai Sierra, 33, NY woman murdered, Istanbul, 21 Jan 2013 - #1

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Abc news website has breaking headline about police responding to suicide bombing at US embassy in Turkey. No idea if this could be related somehow, but thought it was worth noting. I'm on my cell so hard to link.
 
michellemarls said:
Yes, it's a very interesting revelation isn't it. Yes when you Skype someone you can talk to them as you see them too. You are right, hopefuly they know who was sky[ped through an IP address or other means and they can verify if it was indeed Sarai that person was talking to. I think wether or not it was Sarai or not, that this mystery is being very quickly unravelled and authorities will find out the truth very soon indeed .
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I think this may be good news. However, the authorities will have more luck obtaining info from a fortune teller than from Skype. They are notoriously secretive. Unless this is an account established prior to her disappearance and the hubby has the log in info it will be near impossible to find out who she called on her skype.
 
Cagle said:
Abc news website has breaking headline about police responding to suicide bombing at US embassy in Turkey. No idea if this could be related somehow, but thought it was worth noting. I'm on my cell so hard to link.
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I also think it's worth noting. I don't believe it's related to this case, but even though in Ankara, it may mean US citizens may be more of a target throughout Turkey now. I'm sure the State Dept will issue a warning there now.
 
stmarysmead said:
There is a recklessness to this story and I can't decide if it's due to naivete or over confidence, or maybe both. I can accept that there is nothing strange about traveling alone, or choosing an uncommon first destination, but the interaction with men she met on the Internet tothe extent of staying with one of them in Amsterdam, that is an unsafe and unwise move.

Her Mother said she did not want her to go. If her Mother knew of these types of plans, I can understand why. The friend backed out. Was she concerned about what Sarai had in mind for the two of them?

I wonder if the husband and family did not "sign on" to the rather inexpensive trip to Turkey...but once Sarai got to Istanbul, she began spending money on these other trips. The husband might be the source of the $10,000 figure. I also find it hard to believe that they would not be worried about her staying on an Internet friend's couch. I wonder if there was some discord.

It may not be unusual for a woman to travel alone to an exotic place, but Sarai made some reckless choices once away. I am very afraid for her.
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Totally agree. Her friend has said that is a street smart New Yorker. This is not street smart at all. If I didn't know how old she was I would be guessing that she is a teenager. I was quite alarmed when I read that she slept on the couch of a man that she met in Amsterdam. That is beyond reckless. I think everyone should be forced to see the movie "Hostel" before travelling abroad. It will knock some senses into them.
 
Oh wow. The phone thing is confusing! I thought her Samsung Galaxy and iPad were found in her room too. Does this mean that the Turkish phone she reportedly purchased was also a Samsung Galaxy? And she has her American Galaxy on her person. I was thinking that she must have made it safely back to her apartment after the meeting with Taylan if her phone was found there but the thought of a second phone didn't occur to me. In her last communication with him he said "I will go there". I suppose he could have been talking about her apartment and that he was on his way there. This means she could have met with foul play inside her apartment. But now the American phone being used.... Oy. I really hope that she fled and is alive. I was not necessarily only thinking of drugs as what could have been smuggled if that is the case. My initial thoughts were diamonds or ecstasy. If smuggling is way out in left field then definitely ths Taylan knows something. Whatever happened to the three other Turkish men they were looking for that had contact with her? Was her American phone activated yesterday in Turkey? Another country? Another continent? Surely that could be figured out pretty easily?
 
The article early this am posted by Blossom states that her Galaxy Note and Ipad were left in her from. Subsequent article states that alledgedly there was Skype on Jan 30 from her American phone. And above it is mentioned she got a phone while on Turkey. Was the Galaxy Note then, the Turkey bought phone? But why not take that for pics on bridge? Not clear on ph reports.
 
It would indeed make sense that she did take the Turkish phone for pics on the bridge since she was texting and calling with it. She wouldn't want to use her US phone with roaming charges for that. Which would mean that she made it back to her apartment to deposit her Turkish phone at some point.
 
frenchvixen said:
Totally agree. Her friend has said that is a street smart New Yorker. This is not street smart at all. If I didn't know how old she was I would be guessing that she is a teenager. I was quite alarmed when I read that she slept on the couch of a man that she met in Amsterdam. That is beyond reckless. I think everyone should be forced to see the movie "Hostel" before travelling abroad. It will knock some senses into them.
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I totally agree with both of you. The fact that she travelled alone, does not seem odd to me.. But.. To meet people from the internet, that can be very dangerous.
 
According to the quality/speed of the connection the network has to offer, people use Skype with or without video on a cell phone. When you place a call you can decide if you want to call with video or not. The same when you're answering a call. Sometimes if one uses it with video the sound becomes poor quality. You can chat with Skype too, you don't need to talk at all if that's what you want to do.

If in fact her phone was powered on twice, it could mean someone stole it/found it and was testing it to see if they were able to use it.
If Sarai was using it, it could be she was talking to her new friends to arrange a meeting or something.
If she would have called her family we would know it already, I think.
It could have been used for ransom request too, but who would do that through Skype?

By any means, I hope the pings will tell where approximately LE should look for her.
 
ToutCa said:
Be fore-warned, the Turkish press has been wrong about events in this case before (or at least been hotly contradicted by other sources).

The Turkish press says "Taylan" is in custody but denies meeting Sarai on the 21st. If he's in custody, it's because they do not believe him.

Then the Turkish press claims someone turned on her American phone and used Skype on the 30th, and turned the phone on again on the 31st. WHAT?! Up to now everyone said her phone was found in her room!!! If the phone was used on the 30th, who was skyped??!! And where was the phone when it was turned on each day??

If the phone story is true, there are three options here: (1) Sarai is alive and responsible for her own disappearance, (2) Sarai is not alive and her abductor (possibly "Taylan") used the phone to deflect blame, or (3) Sarai is alive and trying to get help -- but why would she not have Skyped someone close to her and gotten word out that way on the 30th?

This story turns more bizarre by the day. I really feel for people close to her, as it seems to only get harder to get a handle on what happened.
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bbm

What gets me about the story of him being in custody is that when we first brought it up a few pages back, the articles we quoted were from yesterday. No US news source has picked that up yet. I'm not saying it's not true, but I just don't get it. Her story was all over the major US news outlets - on the front pages of cnn.com, abcnews.com, etc. So I would assume they would pick up something like this... :waitasec:
 
GinaSeikwa said:
It would indeed make sense that she did take the Turkish phone for pics on the bridge since she was texting and calling with it. She wouldn't want to use her US phone with roaming charges for that. Which would mean that she made it back to her apartment to deposit her Turkish phone at some point.
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Doubtful -- the easiest explanation is that she took the American phone and iPad to go take photos of Galata. Then something happened during/after her meeting with "Taylan" such that she did not return after that. (They have CCTV video of her walking TO Galata but none coming back, we have been led to believe)...
 
belimom said:
bbm

What gets me about the story of him being in custody is that when we first brought it up a few pages back, I believe the articles were from yesterday. No US news source has picked that up yet. I'm not saying it's not true, but I just don't get it. Her story was all over the major US news outlets - on the front pages of cnn.com, abcnews.com, etc. So I would assume they would pick up something like this... :waitasec:
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Leaks are probably going to the local press first. The American reporters have to deal with language/cultural barriers, lack of sophisticated in-country contact network, vetting of new and unfamiliar sources, and perhaps also officials from both countries asking them to wait to release info as the investigation unfolds.

My guess, anyway...
 
I have not read ever post so excuse me for asking but has our government (state dept) been asked by the family for help? I will wait for more info to come out but something just does not seem right here. I just don't know what to think, I don't understand married people with children traveling alone to places in this day and age that I for one would look at as being just a tad bit dangerous. But that's just me. jmo
 
Elley Mae said:
I have not read ever post so excuse me for asking but has our government (state dept) been asked by the family for help? I will wait for more info to come out but something just does not seem right here. I just don't know what to think, I don't understand married people with children traveling alone to places in this day and age that I for one would look at as being just a tad bit dangerous. But that's just me. jmo
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Yes, of course.

The FBI has been over there participating in the investigation. The FBI themselves identified "Taylan" (last person scheduled to meet Ms. Sierra) and turned his contact info over to Turkish LE.
 
vesa said:
I totally agree with both of you. The fact that she travelled alone, does not seem odd to me.. But.. To meet people from the internet, that can be very dangerous.
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It can, but in this day and age, it's very common. Heck, I married someone I met on the internet ;)

I too travelled by myself and met up with people I initially 'met' on a hockey message board (that's where I met my husband). A group of us became friends online through that forum, and many of us have met up in New York through our associations on that website.

BUT, would I have stayed with one of them on a first trip over? Heck no. All our meetings took place in busy bars / restaurants and hockey arenas.
 
Just reading back and seeing the news about her phone.

Last night, I went through this whole case with DH. He really doesn't get into missing people, etc., but I wanted to tell him this story and get his opinion. He has traveled extensively throughout the world as an int'l consultant (almost 30 countries).

His immediate take: "If I had ever flown somewhere then gone 1000 miles to another place to spend the night on a woman's sofa who I had met online, what would YOU think?" He went on to say none of it really adds up to him.

While I'm still leaning towards something happening to Sarai, he now has me entertaining other options - especially in light of her Skype being used. (Who did she Skype?!?) Did she maybe panic about returning home after having such a carefree and independent time overseas? I sure don't want to think that, but at least it may mean that she is safe.

I'm still not there yet, though. I still think she fell prey to someone due to her naivete.
 
I have a friend who is from Turkey. I hope that they find this woman safe and she can get back to her family.
 
belimom said:
Just reading back and seeing the news about her phone.

Last night, I went through this whole case with DH. He really doesn't get into missing people, etc., but I wanted to tell him this story and get his opinion. He has traveled extensively throughout the world as an int'l consultant (almost 30 countries).

His immediate take: "If I had ever flown somewhere then gone 1000 miles to another place to spend the night one a woman's sofa who I had met online, what would YOU think?" He went on to say none of it really adds up to him.

While I'm still leaning towards something happening to Sarai, he now has me entertaining other options - especially in light of her Skype being used. (Who did she Skype?!?) Did she maybe panic about returning home after having such a carefree and independent time overseas? I sure don't want to think that, but at least it may mean that she is safe.

I'm still not there yet, though. I still think she fell prey to someone due to her naivete.
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You could both be right. It's possible she had one or more consensual encounters with one or more of these guys...but then things spiraled out of control with "Taylan", things went way off her script and she found herself in trouble.
 
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