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

[CMac2]

I do think Taylan was involved somehow. But what's with all the people they were questioning and all the DNA samples they are taking. Sounds like they may not think he was the only one involved.

Someone upthread who is familiar with Turkish LE said that this is pretty standard. They will take anyone who may have been a witness- not just a suspect- into custody to find out what they saw, what they know, etc. That kind of thing. So the likelihood that all those people were actually involved in the crime is pretty slim.

 

[ThinkHard]

Looks like we all pretty much agree at this point that the fact that Sarai was American had nothing to do with her death. We may not completely agree on how easy/obvious it is to spot Americans in foreign countries, but at least we tend to agree on the other.

At this point, the only question I find myself asking is WHY TK killed Sarai, not if. I'm not 100% sold on motive just yet, but really can't help but think he harmed her. This crime seems personal- and has always felt that way somehow- so I don't think the motive had to do with her nationality, religion, or (perceived) financial status. I lean towards thinking he thought the relationship was deeper than it was, and when she attempted to set the record straight, he snapped. I don't even really think he planned this out in advance. I think it was a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing, and I think he definitely panicked. Maybe he didn't intend to kill her, but flew into some sort of rage and before he realized what he'd done, she was gone. Don't we hear about that kind of thing here in the states all the time? If this was a crime committed on domestic soil, once most of us heard she'd last had contact with this strange Taylan figure, we'd have jumped to the same conclusion. That's my personal opinion, anyway.

Makes sense. Inless there is another online connection she was hanging out with in Istanbul that we have NOT heard about yet.

 

[GinaSeikwa]

I also don't think he could do this solo in broad daylight. He would have to be in control of a murder weapon (something big or heavy enough to fracture a skull) then grab her iPad and phone, hold unto them somehow while taking off her coat, lowering her pants, dragging her body, fetching wooden planks to cover her with, all the while covered in blood juggling her electronics and coat and all this I. Broad daylight next to a busy road. I suppose its possible but surely someone would have noticed something!

 

[KuriousKev]

Without even knowing or paying attention I have my cable TV tuned to "Globe Trekker" a (travel program) which is spotlighting the beauty of Turkey.

 

[CMac2]

I also don't think he could do this solo in broad daylight. He would have to be in control of a murder weapon (something big or heavy enough to fracture a skull) then grab her iPad and phone, hold unto them somehow while taking off her coat, lowering her pants, dragging her body, fetching wooden planks to cover her with, all the while covered in blood juggling her electronics and coat and all this I. Broad daylight next to a busy road. I suppose its possible but surely someone would have noticed something!

What if he was driving and pulled up next to her in a car while she was walking along the road? They weren't strangers, so could he have convinced her to get into the car with him? I believe he had to have killed her elsewhere, and then dumped her where she was eventually found- perhaps hoping LE would think she'd fallen victim to a random attack because of the all the homeless/junkies in the area.

The problem with the homeless/junkie theory is that only her electronics were taken. Her jewelry was left behind. I think the electronics were taken because they hold the key to who she last communicated with, and what that conversation entailed. I think her ipad/phone lead directly back to the murderer (Taylan). I also believe that to be the reason he deleted his gmail account after SS' husband contacted him about his wife's whereabouts. I think when he took her ipad/phone he might have accessed her email account and deleted any incriminating messages. By the time SS' husband even realized she was missing, those messages had long been deleted. The only way to retrieve them would be through the physical devices themselves- and he has them or has destroyed them.

Again, all this is JMO!!!

 

[KuriousKev]

I also don't think he could do this solo in broad daylight. He would have to be in control of a murder weapon (something big or heavy enough to fracture a skull) then grab her iPad and phone, hold unto them somehow while taking off her coat, lowering her pants, dragging her body, fetching wooden planks to cover her with, all the while covered in blood juggling her electronics and coat and all this I. Broad daylight next to a busy road. I suppose its possible but surely someone would have noticed something!

I feel she met with someone 'trusted' and ended up back at their apt where the crime happened.

 

[CMac2]

I feel she met with someone 'trusted' and ended up back at their apt where the crime happened.

I agree, and like I said a minute ago, tend to think he was driving when she met up with him. His driving as opposed to walking also explains why his image isn't present on any surveillance footage.

Does anyone know if LE has identified the person that was seen to be following SS when she was at the mall the previous day (I think it was the previous day)?

 

[ThinkHard]

I really feel like the murder did not happen at the location she was found. Which makes me highly suspect her IG connection had something to do with it. I think the location of her body was very intentional. Her IG friends would have known where her photography interest where (railroads and derelict buildings) and a local would have known where she would have been last spotted on surveillance.

If it wasnt a planned murder but still a murder by someone she knew, I could see how it could happen at that location. But I can't see how someone would have pulled that whole sequence off without being caught.

But if it was a planned murder, I don't think it would have been planned to take place at that location. To risky to be seen.

Five blows to the head really sounds like rage. FIVE! How do you hit someone in the head 5 times if your not really really angry.

If it was a random mugging, I doubt she would have been struck in the head so many times. She would have been easily overpowered and probably struck unconscious with a single blow. Why continue to hit her?

 

[GinaSeikwa]

When do you think he took her body there? The same day or do you give any credence to the witness account of Tuesday the 29th? I kind of do believe her body was placed after the 21st. I wonder why none of the homeless spotted before then or at least stole the jewelry.

What was the timeline? Questioned and released on the Thursday/ Friday, body found on Friday night but was too dark to recover so waited with body guarded until daylight Saturday? Sounds too coincidental that they found her, in the dark no less, right after he was questioned.

 

[ThinkHard]

What if he was driving and pulled up next to her in a car while she was walking along the road? They weren't strangers, so could he have convinced her to get into the car with him? I believe he had to have killed her elsewhere, and then dumped her where she was eventually found- perhaps hoping LE would think she'd fallen victim to a random attack because of the all the homeless/junkies in the area.

The problem with the homeless/junkie theory is that only her electronics were taken. Her jewelry was left behind. I think the electronics were taken because they hold the key to who she last communicated with, and what that conversation entailed. I think her ipad/phone lead directly back to the murderer (Taylan). I also believe that to be the reason he deleted his gmail account after SS' husband contacted him about his wife's whereabouts. I think when he took her ipad/phone he might have accessed her email account and deleted any incriminating messages. By the time SS' husband even realized she was missing, those messages had long been deleted. The only way to retrieve them would be through the physical devices themselves- and he has them or has destroyed them.

Again, all this is JMO!!!

What you say makes a lot of sense as to why the perp would have taken her iPad and phone. But why would he leave the gmail transaction btw himself and sarai from earlier that day? And how would he have gotten her password?

That kind of makes me think it wasnt Taylan but perhaps someone else she was communicating with. Why would he leave any evidence of corresponding with her that day.

Perhaps that's why law enforcement has asked to get her gmail records from the states. Perhaps there is a way for gmail to get even the emails that have been erased from an account.

 

[ThinkHard]

IF Taylan is involved I'm betting he has knowledge of what happened or knows the person who did it. And perhaps if other things were deleted those gmail conversation btw Taylan and sarai were VERY intentionally left to be seen.

 

[CMac2]

When do you think he took her body there? The same day or do you give any credence to the witness account of Tuesday the 29th? I kind of do believe her body was placed after the 21st. I wonder why none of the homeless spotted before then or at least stole the jewelry.

What was the timeline? Questioned and released on the Thursday/ Friday, body found on Friday night but was too dark to recover so waited with body guarded until daylight Saturday? Sounds too coincidental that they found her, in the dark no less, right after he was questioned.

I think he killed her elsewhere and later dumped her body where it was found. I don't think he sat on it (sorry for the image) for more than a day or two, though. I think she was likely found in that hole/tunnel thing, not outside of it (we've gotten conflicting media reports about that), which explains why it took some time to locate her. I also do not find it coincidental that her body was found almost immediately after Taylan was questioned by LE- mostly because quite frankly, I'm tired of all the potential "coincidences" in this case. Seriously- I just don't buy it! The fact that he isn't in custody makes me wonder about his being an informant (I think this was explored upthread somewhere as well), his ability to have made LE think (for now) that he's more witness, less suspect.

 

[CMac2]

IF Taylan is involved I'm betting he has knowledge of what happened or knows the person who did it. And perhaps if other things were deleted those gmail conversation btw Taylan and sarai were VERY intentionally left to be seen.

Even this kind of follows my jealously/rebuffed lover/lover scorned theory. In addition to humiliating SS for rejecting him (pants, panties around the knees), perhaps he left just enough of their email correspondence untouched in her inbox to show her husband that SOMETHING was going on between the two of them (again, I'm saying the "something" that was going on between them was a figment of his imagination- I am NOT saying she cheated on her spouse with Taylon at all). I think he'd relish the idea of making her husband wonder what the nature of his relationship was with SS. Especially if the rumblings of marital unrest between SS and her husband are true.

 

[NewYork625]

OT...wasn't it mentioned at some point that she had taken an extra pair of shoes? Is that true, and if so, what do you think the reason might be for that? She was found with the extra pair of shoes.

 

[CMac2]

What you say makes a lot of sense as to why the perp would have taken her iPad and phone. But why would he leave the gmail transaction btw himself and sarai from earlier that day? And how would he have gotten her password?

That kind of makes me think it wasnt Taylan but perhaps someone else she was communicating with. Why would he leave any evidence of corresponding with her that day.

Perhaps that's why law enforcement has asked to get her gmail records from the states. Perhaps there is a way for gmail to get even the emails that have been erased from an account.

My tablet isn't password protected. I have it set up with my gmail, twitter, FB, Websleuths, Yahoo IM, Google Talk, Google+, Instagram and a thousand other things. If SS had reason to believe she was the only person with regular access to her accounts (as I do), she would have set her electronics up to notify her when a new message comes in- but each time that happens, she doesn't need to log in again. I believe, as long as someone has access to her Ipad and phone, they don't need a password. My phone is set up the same way as my tablet. I don't know anyone with a smart phone that has to log in and enter a password each and every time they get an email/IM/text message/social media notification. If that were the case, I'd spend my life entering passwords into my phone.

 

[necco]

OT...wasn't it mentioned at some point that she had taken an extra pair of shoes? Is that true, and if so, what do you think the reason might be for that?

Could be something as simple as she liked different kinds of shoes for walking on different kinds of ground. The shoes I wear to walk long distances are very different than the ones I use on cobblestones or if I'm climbing a lot of stairs.

 

[CMac2]

OT...wasn't it mentioned at some point that she had taken an extra pair of shoes? Is that true, and if so, what do you think the reason might be for that?

I hadn't heard that- or at least, hadn't given it any thought. I know some women wear their "cute" shoes when they leave to go somewhere, but carry a more comfortable pair too, in case they have to walk a lot. I've done this when going places with my DH. Do you recall what kind of shoes they were? And whether they were found with her body?

 

[NewYork625]

I hadn't heard that- or at least, hadn't given it any thought. I know some women wear their "cute" shoes when they leave to go somewhere, but carry a more comfortable pair too, in case they have to walk a lot. I've done this when going places with my DH. Do you recall what kind of shoes they were? And whether they were found with her body?

They were found with her body but I dont't believe it was disclosed what type of shoes they were.

 

[Yellow]

It is so profoundly sad that her boys do not yet know she died. They do not plan on telling them till dad comes home. They have to know something is up. I cannot imagine they would not be asking, as they were in contact w her daily and now 2 weeks w no contact? Then dad and uncle leave? I have to think they know deep down, being 9 and 11 it would be hard to pull off some story...also, wonder if they are in school

You know how mean kids are, it would be horrible to find out in school or TV, her face is on all the news sites... It is such a shame for her family. I hope they catch the perp.

I read she put up a fight & there could be fingernail evidence from 1 or more attackers. It was on NBC or abc news. I found it interesting they said "at least one attacker." Wonder why?

 

[CMac2]

They were found with her body but I dont't believe it was disclosed what type of shoes they were.

Perhaps she brought extra pair with her, anticipating a long walk and wanting some comfort. I do know she walked for a LOOOONG time that day. I think surveillance video shows she'd been walking the area at least an hour and 45 mins from the first time she was captured on camera to the last.