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

[ami]

I don't mean to muddy the waters further, but a bombshell report in the NY Post this morning claims that the FBI doubts the innocence of the trip.

It claims she met with "a criminal element" in Amsterdam/Istanbul.

It claims that drug trafficking is suspected, and very much still on the table.

It claims she and her husband had severe money problems (bankruptcy in the past, etc.).

It claims that her husband and brother have been "cooperative" with LE but not "helpful", i.e. that they are holding info back.

Almost none of us, including me, want to hear this at this point. But I believe in putting out ALL the information for consideration.

The NY Post is a shade more reputable than the sensationalizing Turkish press, but it also has been known to publish nonsense on occasion.

Here's the article: LINK

I feel like this is another example of sensationalistic journalism, trying to find another headline grabbing spin once the pictures of her face and coffin were common & widely distributed.

1. "The FBI ...is looking into a possible connection to drug trafficking — among other lines of inquiry, a source said."

Of course they are. They would be irresponsible not to look into sexual, financial, drug related and romantic lines of inquiry, simply because they don't know why she was killed and they need to cast a wide net. They could as easily have said "The FBI is looking into a possible connection to Instagram - among other lines of inquiry" and been equally correct.

2. "...some witness reports that she was seen with sketchy characters,"

Okay what does that even mean? Her landlord was "sketchy", some of the men who were on IG were "sketchy"? Sketchy is a subjective, vague term. To me that's non-reporting.

3. "Sierra’s relatives ...are being “cooperative,” sources close to the probe said. But “being cooperative and being helpful are two different things,” said one source."

Again, there's not even a real statement there, just a sly innuendo. There's no statement that they are not forthcoming, just that "helpful and cooperative are words with different meanings" - so are "alien" and "fruitbowl".

4. They mention her "unemployment" (stay at home mom) and refer to a bankruptsy in 2005 - 8 years ago! By the time of her trip, Sarai and her husband both had jobs, she was going back to school, enrolled in college - clearly their situation has changed in the last 8 years and they are more comfortable. The article wanted to paint them as desperately poor (but she had an ipad, she was taking college classes - this was not a family one step from the streets!)

They also mention that she was traveling alone again - as if this is a sure sign of nefarious intentions. Sigh. I give this article a weight of 1 on a scale from 1-10.

 

[ThinkHard]

I don't mean to muddy the waters further, but a bombshell report in the NY Post this morning claims that the FBI doubts the innocence of the trip.

It claims she met with "a criminal element" in Amsterdam/Istanbul.

It claims that drug trafficking is suspected, and very much still on the table.

It claims she and her husband had severe money problems (bankruptcy in the past, etc.).

It claims that her husband and brother have been "cooperative" with LE but not "helpful", i.e. that they are holding info back.

Almost none of us, including me, want to hear this at this point. But I believe in putting out ALL the information for consideration.

The NY Post is a shade more reputable than the sensationalizing Turkish press, but it also has been known to publish nonsense on occasion.

Here's the article: LINK

If this is true, how exactly did they convince her to go along with it in the first place?there must be records somewhere of conversations that indicate this.

Additionally IF this is true it could play into the staged murder theory. Perhaps they thought to leave her body staged and mislead investigators was better then to never have a body at all.

I understand people do desperate things for money but I still don't know if I completely buy this theory. I feel like if she was hanging out with criminal elements she was unaware that these men had criminal elements to them. Some criminals can be highly educated and incredibley clean cut.

 

[ami]

From poking around istagram last night I found a few things that were interesting

Quotes from here account
6w before her trip, a man from Amsterdam asks her how her plans are coming for her trip she responds
"We'll I figured the days I want to go there but I'm having trouble booking a train ticket from the US so I may have to book it while I'm out there which I'm trying to avoid. I hate not having it. Planned LOL kinda neurotic like that"

4w agao while instanbul to a friend back home
" you can txt me on my iPad". (Possibly another way she was communicating with people?)

3w ago she has a picture up, someone asks her of its Hagia Sophia (it's not, not even close)
She says "I have no idea if its Hagia I'm like the most uniformed tourist here"
(I thought that was weird since she supposedly did so much research?)

Ad this one is just plane creepy....she is doing this photo challenge to get really low to the ground she has one from water, one from a city street, one from tracks.....on the tracks one there is a conversation joking about .... Is this low enough? Se then writes "next time ill try to get under the tracks".... I don't think this one has anything to do with it...but it is a little creepy foreshadowing since it was reported wood from the tracks was placed on her to conceal her.

I'm like that too, though. I do research on how to get around, where to stay, ideas about day trips and what to eat, but I couldn't tell you what the famous buildings are named either.

I took a picture of a building with horses on it in Rome and emailed it to my family "don't know what this is, but reminds me of flying monkeys in the wizard of oz". My sister, who had never been there, told me it was the Roman Court House. I'd have had no idea, but it wasn't for lack of pre-trip reading.

 

[ThinkHard]

If I were LE I'd be tracking down old gf's of Taylan to find out if he had possessive streak.

 

[ToutCa]

Aaaaaaannnndddd. . .it took about 3 seconds for the Turkish press to pick up the NY Post article and be off and running on the drug trafficking again...

Thank you, NY Post, classy move not even to wait one day until after her funeral to run your entirely speculative "Sarai Drug Mule???!!!" piece...

 

[Kluver13]

I don't mean to muddy the waters further, but a bombshell report in the NY Post this morning claims that the FBI doubts the innocence of the trip.

It claims she met with "a criminal element" in Amsterdam/Istanbul.

It claims that drug trafficking is suspected, and very much still on the table.

It claims she and her husband had severe money problems (bankruptcy in the past, etc.).

It claims that her husband and brother have been "cooperative" with LE but not "helpful", i.e. that they are holding info back.

Almost none of us, including me, want to hear this at this point. But I believe in putting out ALL the information for consideration.

The NY Post is a shade more reputable than the sensationalizing Turkish press, but it also has been known to publish nonsense on occasion.

Here's the article: LINK

This is in direct contradistinction to LEs public pronouncement that that this theory was off the table. This is a baffling mystery.

 

[imamaze]

Working on a new thread, will be closing this one shortly.

Ima

 

[lavy]

My issue with the junkie theory is tht if someone was messed up so bad to harm her so violently, would they have also been in a right enough state of mind to also conceal the body? I feel like it can't be both.

Wow never thought of that.
Although I agree, maybe he came back later when it is dark?

How do you live with such a frustrating press on a daily basis, lavy???

It is really annoying. I don't live in Turkey so I try to avoid it whenever possible.

The NY Post is a shade more reputable than the sensationalizing Turkish press, but it also has been known to publish nonsense on occasion.

Here's the article: LINK

Turkish press has the story already saying that a FBI agent gave information to NY post.

Pfffff..... I don't know.
I wonder if FBI and Turkish LE sharing every single information?

If this is true, how exactly did they convince her to go along with it in the first place?there must be records somewhere of conversations that indicate this.

Additionally IF this is true it could play into the staged murder theory. Perhaps they thought to leave her body staged and mislead investigators was better then to never have a body at all.

True story...
I don't know how this drug story came back again just when we were sure it is not related to drugs.

A crime expert said even the way she died does not look like drug mafia. From the past drug related crimes it would be most likely be a gunshot.

If I were LE I'd be tracking down old gf's of Taylan to find out if he had possessive streak.

Good one.
It is just that we don't know anything about what Taylan said to police (officially) I wonder what police knows by now. For example probably has a job, people and cameras could tell where he was the on 21st.

 

[ToutCa]

Here's how the Post works (from past experience):

-- if SS's Amsterdam host is an occasional smoker of small amounts of pot for personal use only, don't say that, say "she met with a criminal element"

-- if SS's Amsterdam host thought her IG Istanbul pals and host seemed "sketchy", go right ahead and use that same "criminal element" as your source for the statement that witnesses saw her with "sketchy" people in Istanbul

I'm NOT saying that happened, just pointing out how threatening-sounding prose can be crafted out of hypocrisy (dissing the same source you rely on in the next paragraph) and meaningless occurrences...

 

[ThinkHard]

I'm like that too, though. I do research on how to get around, where to stay, ideas about day trips and what to eat, but I couldn't tell you what the famous buildings are named either.

I took a picture of a building with horses on it in Rome and emailed it to my family "don't know what this is, but reminds me of flying monkeys in the wizard of oz". My sister, who had never been there, told me it was the Roman Court House. I'd have had no idea, but it wasn't for lack of pre-trip reading.

I guess but Hagia Sophia is kind of a biggie. It would be hard to not come across it even in that kind of research. Her picture was of a mosque...Hagia Sophia is a pretty bright orangey pink color.

To me that's like not being able to distinguish Big Ben from the tower bridge in London. But maybe I just pay attention to that stuff more then others.

Any top ten things to see in Istanbul sight would have it listed as a top spot. And I guess my thought with going there for 2 weeks, you would have researched at least the top 10 list.

I also thought it was a little odd that that she had only posted 6 photos from Istanbul and that's where she was the longest. But 5 from Amsterdam where she was for only 3 days. It seems she was normally a daily photo poster. So I'm not saying its specifically significant but if she wasnt taking or posting as many photos from Istanbul....the city that supposedly her goal was to shoot, what was she doing with her time? I'm sure she took a bunch of pics she didn't post, but it still seems like a low number when you compare it to Amsterdam, for someone who's goal of the trip was to shoot Istanbul's many things

 

[Elley Mae]

NY Post this morning:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/staten_island/turkey_ma_shady_pals_fufaVJvDX6chDrmhlmYZyL

I want to hear more.

 

[lavy]

NEWS

Turkish LE has her gmail recordings. A special team is working on it.

 

[ThinkHard]

Here's how the Post works (from past experience):

-- if SS's Amsterdam host is an occasional smoker of small amounts of pot for personal use only, don't say that, say "she met with a criminal element"

-- if SS's Amsterdam host thought her IG Istanbul pals and host seemed "sketchy", go right ahead and use that same "criminal element" as your source for the statement that witnesses saw her with "sketchy" people in Istanbul

I'm NOT saying that happened, just pointing out how threatening-sounding prose can be crafted out of hypocrisy (dissing the same source you rely on in the next paragraph) and meaningless occurrences...

Agreed. But one thought too could be that the Turkish LE who blew off the drug mule theory could have done so to not effect an investigation in that direction. If the people involved in that theory knew that's the direction they were looking, then it might effect what evident the investigators are able to find.

Whatever we hear, so does the perp.

 

[ThinkHard]

NEWS

Turkish LE has her gmail recordings. A special team is working on it.

Yes this is what we have been waiting for! I hope they find some BIG clues....like some communication she had with someone who hasn't come in the picture or catching Taylan in a BIG fat lie.

 

[belimom]

This is in direct contradistinction to LEs public pronouncement that that this theory was off the table. This is a baffling mystery.

While I'm not sure what I think of SS being a drug mule or not, but I do think it should be explored fully. And I think maybe that is what the FBI is doing, perhaps? It was local LE that dismissed it very early, just a day or so after her body was found. I don't think it could've been ruled out at that point. I think the Turkish LE has done a fabulous job, but I think it was too soon to say with certainty that delivering drugs were not involved.

 

[ToutCa]

Whatever we hear, so does the perp.

You're right -- LE could be releasing any of the information we have heard or even floating false suspicions in an attempt to influence the perp or perps.

We don't know all they know. They may have a concrete suspect or suspects right now.

I can hardly bear the suspense!!!

 

[michellemarls]

Here is a rather interestig read. It's a blog in the Washington post about violence towards women in Turkey. It points out that the last weekend alone 4 Turkish women were murdered but there story is not covered in the media like Sarai's is.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...r-turkish-women-remain-missing-and-uncovered/

 

[CMac2]

It's never sat well with me, the fact that she cut her trip short, and then said she had done so to register for classes. I researched the school she was attending, and she would have had plenty of time to register when she returned, even if she didn't cut her trip short. In addition, classes didn't start until after she would have originally gotten back home. The school says on its website (which I posted a few pages back) that they also have online registration.

I don't know if any of the speculating about the reasons for her trip are true. I did find it a little strange that she was in Turkey/Amsterdam and Munich to take pictures, but given the length of time she'd already been abroad, didn't post all that many pictures, considering. Adding that to the interesting decision to cut her trip short- but at the last minute, and only by a few days- does it mean anything? I have no idea. It's really hard to figure out what info is simply false vs. a language barrier vs. LE attempt to throw the real perp off, and not tip their hand.

 

[imamaze]

Closing thread in one minute, please continue here...

Found Deceased Turkey - NY mother Sarai Sierra, 33, 21 Jan 2013 #2 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[ThinkHard]

I just hope as I'm sure we all do that justice is served. I would hate for the wrong person (like a homeless man) to take the rap for something that was perhaps staged.

I have a few theories but the deranged homeless junkie is only about a 2% chance as far as I'm concerned.