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

[radiator]

Or maybe the basement is just the ground floor (street level) and someone else (YY) owns it and rents it out? But then I wonder how YY saw her "around the house" on Sunday... makes it seem like he's on site all the time. Could she have rented out a room in his apartment?

she definitely could have been just renting a room in his apartment. a lot of the lodgings on airbnb are rooms in people's houses/apartments.

also, I noticed in the reviews of the top-floor apartment that nobody says anything about the neighborhood feeling unsafe.

 

[lucky181]

This makes it sound like the basement is not part of her rental.

The apartment is on the top floor of a 5 floor old traditional style turkish beyoglu flat and has just been renovated. The apartment spans two floors: has a terrace and kitchen on the top floor, 2 bathrooms, a living and dining area, a master bedroom and a studio room which has a long term tenant

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/180932?locale=en

 

[radiator]

This makes it sound like the basement is not part of her rental.


https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/180932?locale=en

I don't think it is part of her normal rental--but perhaps (speculation only) she normally lives in the basement and YY was staying there while she's out of the country and decided to earn some extra money by renting out a room that's not usually rented.

 

[ami]

I don't think it is part of her normal rental--but perhaps (speculation only) she normally lives in the basement and YY was staying there while she's out of the country and decided to earn some extra money by renting out a room that's not usually rented.

Maybe YY just owns all or part of the building and some of the floors are rented long term (like the airbnb sublet) and some are open for temporary vacation rentals (like the "basement" apartment).

It's odd that she'd choose something so dingy when just going by airbnb it looks like there are so many very inexpensive apartments for rent in Istanbul. Great views, bright and airy, etc. I wonder if she and her friend (the one that backed out) were going to room together in that apartment?

 

[stmarysmead]

Part of me has been hoping that she left voluntarily, because that is the only scenario that IMO will find her safe. I keep thinking of Natalie Holloway. Her Mother was able to get to Aruba the same night she did not board the plane, and still Natalie has never been found.

In this case, almost a week passed. And the more we learn of SS , the less I believe she would put her family through this grief. This has to be the most helpless feeling.

 

[nursebeeme]

sorry if this was already posted

CCtv video released

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cctv-footage-released-missing-us-woman-18343127

 

[nursebeeme]

Turkey's private Dogan news agency meanwhile, reported that police had established that Sierra had traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands, from Istanbul on Jan. 15 and then journeyed on to Munich, Germany, on Jan. 16, before returning to Istanbul on Jan. 19. Police were trying to determine the reason for her visit to the European cities, the report said.

Police were also trying to find the identity of a person she had been chatting with on the Internet, Dogan reported.

Another police official, contacted by The Associated Press, confirmed that Sierra had made a brief trip to Europe, but refused to provide further details. He also spoke on condition of anonymity saying he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

Before she went missing, the mother-of-two told family members that she planned to take some photographs at Galata Bridge, a well-known tourist destination about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away from Taksim that spans the Golden Horn waterway. She was then supposed to begin traveling home and was scheduled to arrive in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.

Her belongings, including her passport and phone, were found in her room. The first police official said authorities were therefore not able to track her by her cell phone.

Sierra's husband and brother were traveling to Istanbul to follow the search. Her two children, aged 11 and 9, do not know their mother is missing, her brother David Jimenez told the AP Sunday.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=8971884

interview with her husband at this link

 

[nursebeeme]

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=8971884

husband says in the video that she was supposed to come home on the 25th but moved up her flight to surprise her kids.. she was coming home early because she missed them

:-(

 

[ami]

A short clip of the video from January 20th: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...missing-Turkey-Mother-went-trips-country.html

I'm not sure where the media wants to go with this - she took a trip that included several destinations, all openly planned and photographed and chatted about with family, but they keep making it sound like she was a super top secret drug mule or something. I wish they wouldn't.

They also keep mentioning the Amsterdam tour guide, but wouldn't it be relatively easy to tell (passport, flight manifest, etc) if he had gone to Istanbul after she left Amsterdam? I mean we know she was safe and well in Istanbul up until the 20th (video) and possibly morning of the 21st (text to sister) so if they're implying something about the Amsterdam connection I'm not sure what it is.

 

[nursebeeme]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wor...ng-staten-island-mom-turkey-article-1.1250207

 

[ami]

Looks like short updates from a family friend on instagram:

http://statigr.am/sentfromsi

Sarai's brother and husband are apparently having a lot of meetings today....

 

[nursebeeme]

sure would be helpful to know when those video stills were taken... (like right before she went missing or what?)

 

[ami]

sure would be helpful to know when those video stills were taken... (like right before she went missing or what?)

The ones I saw from the mall said they were taken on January 20th.

 

[bellyup]

I wonder if authorities have talked to / contacted the "tour guide" doesn't that seem like something that would have or should have been done right away???

Oddly, I'm getting the feeling of someone not wanting her to leave. Or perhaps, her not wanting to leave herself. (which would be the best case scenario)

 

[lucky181]

There are some new comments on SS's 4th IG picture. And a new comment on the first picture of the questionable man's IG.

I hope it's ok to link to her IG.

http://instagram.com/memyself_sarai

 

[ami]

There are some new comments on SS's 4th IG picture. And a new comment on the first picture of the questionable man's IG.

I hope it's ok to link to her IG.

http://instagram.com/memyself_sarai

I admit that in the context of her disappearance his questions about how she liked Holland and where she was seem eerie, but I glanced at his other social media sites and not really seeing red flags.

 

[lucky181]

I admit that in the context of her disappearance his questions about how she liked Holland and where she was seem eerie, but I glanced at his other social media sites and not really seeing red flags.

I agree. If she hadn't disappeared, the comments would not have seemed unusual.

 

[Yellow]

The Amsterdam and Munich trips seem odd to me. Even if preplanned why go there? It would be like taking a trip to NYC and taking a side trip to Texas. Why not go somewhere closer, like other parts of Turkey or Greece? Also, if Amsterdam why take a second plane to munich? Paris is only a few hours from Amsterdam, if going to Western Europe, why not do Belgium, Paris, etc. which are within hours by train to Amsterdam. Why go to Munich instead after Amsterdam?

It seems like these side trips were not just about traveling bc if just interested in sites, why not stay and see more around Amsterdam, Paris, etc. rather than go to munich? She had to have been meeting people in those cities, IMO.

The stays in these cities seem short too. Why would you not stay longer? If you are going to spend so much in airfare I would think you would stay AT LEAST 2-3 daysin Amsterdam plus another 2-3 days in Munich. Remember w traveling, that had to take up half a day at least each way. Considering traveling it seems like she was in these cites a day at most. That is odd. Why would you travel from NYC to Texas for only a day? Maybe on business you would, but a foreign tourist would not travel all that distance only to spend a day touring. Further they would stay in Amsterdam, not go off to Munich.

 

[nursebeeme]

The Amsterdam and Munich trips seem odd to me. Even if preplanned why go there? It would be like taking a trip to NYC and taking a side trip to Texas. Why not go somewhere closer, like other parts of Turkey or Greece? Also, if Amsterdam why take a second plane to munich? Paris is only a few hours from Amsterdam, if going to Western Europe, why not do Belgium, Paris, etc. which are within hours by train to Amsterdam. Why go to Munich instead after Amsterdam?

It seems like these side trips were not just about traveling bc if just interested in sites, why not stay and see more around Amsterdam, Paris, etc. rather than go to munich? She had to have been meeting people in those cities, IMO.

The stays in these cities seem short too. Why would you not stay longer? If you are going to spend so much in airfare I would think you would stay AT LEAST 2-3 daysin Amsterdam plus another 2-3 days in Munich. Remember w traveling, that had to take up half a day at least each way. Considering traveling it seems like she was in these cites a day at most. That is odd. Why would you travel from NYC to Texas for only a day? Maybe on business you would, but a foreign tourist would not travel all that distance only to spend a day touring. Further they would stay in Amsterdam, not go off to Munich.

if it was her once in a lifetime trip I would do just as she did and see those places.

I lived in Europe for six years and one time flew with friends to Dublin for lunch. (Ryan air rocks with cheap flights)

I don't see the side trips as odd at all imhoo. The public transportation available is amazing and fast.:twocents:

 

[stmarysmead]

The thing I find odd about the trips is that they are not in a logical sequence and therfore more expensive than needs be. Lets say you live in London and fly to LA for a once in a lifetime visit. Why would you then fly to NYC and back to LA...even adding in a additional stopover in Kansas? All the while paying for two places? Why not fly to LA...then to Kansas...then to NYC as you make your way back to London.

Why a second return airfare to Turkey? This trip does not seem to be in the category of "money is no object." She unnecessarily backtracked when Amersterdam ( much closer to NYC than Turkey) could have been a stopover on the way home...saving money on flights and double rooms.

It makes me think she decided to go on those trips AFTER she got to Turkey.