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

[tresptip]

Here is someone posting what Turkish newspapers were reporting - that the last video shows her being followed by a male, age 30-35. This is not the source that I read previously - it must have been a translation of a Turkish news article, maybe?

According to police , last seen security camera footage shows that after visiting galata bridge, she was walking alone towards that part of the city .

 

[CMac2]

She looked like a tall women too so I think she would have put up a big struggle...and been pretty good at that too.

Earlier, when SS was still "missing" and descriptions of her were circulating, I seem to recall the opposite- I thought she was 5'2", around 110 lbs. Is that not correct?

 

[vesa]

lavy..

Can you translate this article, please.. Did they find her body in this hole?


http://www.haberte.com/polis-adliye/kayip-amerikali-sarainin-cesedi-bulundu-h97930.html

Thank you very much!


If her body was thrown in there, where graffiti is, probably the one who did it, knowing that she likes graffiti.. In addition, graffiti speak for themselves (THC - Amsterdam, Berlin - Germany).. Coincidence?

 

[lavy]

What I don't understand is that they don't talk about the fact that she changed her ticket. We got some conflicting information on that and I think it is important. She might have worried about something (the people she is meeting) and wanted to go back earlier.

We know that she changed her ticket :
-Her husband sent her money for changing the ticket. Which is usually something like 50$ and the difference of the ticket price. I had to do that few times and this could be expensive if its close to travel date.
-Her friend said she was leaving early to surprise the children.

It still doesn't make sense that she payed for her room to stay 13 days. She arrived istanbul on 8th. I guess maybe she she emptied the room when she was going to amsterdam & munich.

 

[CMac2]

What I don't understand is that they don't talk about the fact that she changed her ticket. We got some conflicting information on that and I think it is important. She might have worried about something (the people she is meeting) and wanted to go back earlier.

We know that she changed her ticket :
-Her husband sent her money for changing the ticket. Which is usually something like 50$ and the difference of the ticket price. I had to do that few times and this could be expensive if its close to travel date.
-Her friend said she was leaving early to surprise the children.

It still doesn't make sense that she payed for her room to stay 13 days. She arrived istanbul on 8th. I guess maybe she she emptied the room when she was going to amsterdam & munich.

Something I've noticed from almost all the American MSM articles that discussed the change in plans is that they always state she shortened the trip "in part" to surprise the kids. What was the other "part" or reason for this decision? It's been alluded to more than once that there was more than one reason for the switch.

It does make you wonder if something or someone made her uncomfortable enough that she felt she'd be better off coming home. We already know she wasn't wealthy, so the fees involved in changing flights would have been enough for me to just stick it out a few extra days as originally planned. That is, unless I felt I wasn't safe, or there was some sort of emergency that required the change. It isn't like she cut her trip in half, or made a drastic change- she was merely returning a few days early. Why incur that expense? Must be a reason...

 

[lavy]

lavy..

Can you translate this article, please.. Did they find her body in this hole?


http://www.haberte.com/polis-adliye/kayip-amerikali-sarainin-cesedi-bulundu-h97930.html

Thank you very much!

I've been searching for this picture since yesterday. I was sure I had seen it and then couldn't find it again when I wanted to post it.

Yes it says it was found in this hole. It was confusing for me when I read that she was found in a "dehliz" which I thought was a hole or a well although my dictionary translates it as corridor, tunnel...

Nothing new at the rest of the article.

This might answer why they didn't take her body outside of the city but left it in the middle of the city. If they manage to take it to there without being seen it is hard to find her.
Sources say 100/260 police were carefully searching the area.

 

[ami]

Are we sure it is both stab wombs and blow to head? If blow to head only, could it be someone threw her down the wall? Is there a high wall in that area where someone literally could have picked her up and thrown her?

EXTREMELY unlikely, but if just a blow to head, could she have accidentally fallen off the wall while taking pictures? Perhaps not watch where she was going and trip and fall over the wall? This would be assuming stab wound is not there. If there is, this would be eliminated.

If body was only there for a week, does that mean someone had her for a few days? Or is the science on that just in exact

It does not seem we know what valuables she had on her. It does not appear to be much. It is extremely unlikely someone randomly kill someone in broad daylight for an ipad without someone hearing a scream, etc...She looked like a tall women too so I think she would have put up a big struggle...and been pretty good at that too.

I wondered that too, but then there's the blanket with her, and the witness who says they saw a man carry something from a car, and a hand was seen (as in the thing he was carrying was a human being).

What I don't understand is that they don't talk about the fact that she changed her ticket. We got some conflicting information on that and I think it is important. She might have worried about something (the people she is meeting) and wanted to go back earlier.

We know that she changed her ticket :
-Her husband sent her money for changing the ticket. Which is usually something like 50$ and the difference of the ticket price. I had to do that few times and this could be expensive if its close to travel date.
-Her friend said she was leaving early to surprise the children.

It still doesn't make sense that she payed for her room to stay 13 days. She arrived istanbul on 8th. I guess maybe she she emptied the room when she was going to amsterdam & munich.

She said on IG that she had to sort something out with the college she was attending and (can't remember the exact wording) that led to her needing to come home a bit early, too. My interpretation was once she realized she had to come home a few days early she accepted it just fine as she missed her boys anyway.

 

[CMac2]

This might answer why they didn't take her body outside of the city but left it in the middle of the city. If they manage to take it to there without being seen it is hard to find her.
Sources say 100/260 police were carefully searching the area.

The picture looks much more like a hole than the tunnel I'd originally imagined. How in the world did they find her in a hole, or know to look down in there?

 

[tardislass]

One more thing about the landlord is odd. If Sarai was leaving on the 21st, wouldn t he have checked out the apartment after she left. To make sure nothing was broke, damaged and that she really is gone. However. from reports it sounds like he didn't even check her room until the husband called saying she never came home. Just a bit odd but maybe he was pretty loose with the tenants.

 

[lavy]

It does make you wonder if something or someone made her uncomfortable enough that she felt she'd be better off coming home. We already know she wasn't wealthy, so the fees involved in changing flights would have been enough for me to just stick it out a few extra days as originally planned. That is, unless I felt I wasn't safe, or there was some sort of emergency that required the change. It isn't like she cut her trip in half, or made a drastic change- she was merely returning a few days early. Why incur that expense? Must be a reason...

I agree.

Now that I am thinking there is a very high number of turkish population in germany. Maybe she met with a turkish person in munich who was very interested about where she is staying and where she is going to visit. She gave all the information during a chat and then she felt unsafe. Just a thought...

Turks in Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[tardislass]

The hole explains why they placed her there. Unlike a tunnel, one would have to look for that- and yes it begs the question of how was she found.

And it also says to me the killer knew the lay of the land. I doubt I'd even notice that.

 

[tresptip]

One more thing about the landlord is odd. If Sarai was leaving on the 21st, wouldn t he have checked out the apartment after she left. To make sure nothing was broke, damaged and that she really is gone. However. from reports it sounds like he didn't even check her room until the husband called saying she never came home. Just a bit odd but maybe he was pretty loose with the tenants.

I don't find that odd.How much damage can 1 female do in that short of time when she spends most of the day out?Nothing strange about it.

 

[belimom]

According to police , last seen security camera footage shows that after visiting galata bridge, she was walking alone towards that part of the city .

Agreed, but I'm talking about older reports that I can't locate now --- that she was being followed in the video of her *after* the bridge. I'm going to drop it on here and will come back to post if I ever find those reports...

 

[lavy]

One more thing about the landlord is odd. If Sarai was leaving on the 21st, wouldn t he have checked out the apartment after she left. To make sure nothing was broke, damaged and that she really is gone. However. from reports it sounds like he didn't even check her room until the husband called saying she never came home. Just a bit odd but maybe he was pretty loose with the tenants.

It is odd but it might be partly because he already had his money.

It is not related but I think that her plane was actually on 22nd morning. This was discussed here but I couldn't find the outcome but. It is kind of impossible that she was flying on 21st and arriving on 22nd because of the time difference and schedule of flights from istanbul to us.

For example if she her flight was at 7:30 am on 22nd she would be arriving around 11:30 am to us. She might not be flying direct though. Sorry if I am confusing everyone. I am definitely confusing myself.

The hole explains why they placed her there. Unlike a tunnel, one would have to look for that- and yes it begs the question of how was she found.

According to what I've read police was searching the area very carefully (either 100 people or 260 people) they also had trained dog(s) with them.

 

[belimom]

(snipped)

She said on IG that she had to sort something out with the college she was attending and (can't remember the exact wording) that led to her needing to come home a bit early, too. My interpretation was once she realized she had to come home a few days early she accepted it just fine as she missed her boys anyway.

Here you go:

Sierra said that his wife was originally supposed to come home on Jan. 25, but bumped up her return trip to register in time for classes at the College of Staten Island.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/staten_island_woman_goes_missi.html

 

[Walker]

The Duggar family and the Amish probably think I dress immodestly. And I doubt they'd entirely approve of my behavior. And they're American. You cannot judge a city by its fringes.

That only confirms what I am saying. Even in the US, people might see her behavior and clothing as inappropriate. Back down the thread someone complained that she shouldn't have to conform to 50's standards; but in Turkey, their standards are like our 50's; that is, not repressively religious, but definitely having rules. Plus, religious Muslims (and Christians) are hardly the fringe of Turkey's society.

 

[CMac2]

Classes at College of Staten Island didn't begin until 1/28/13, which is the following Monday after she would have returned home, even if she didn't switch her flight. Perhaps with jet lag, etc she felt it best to return a little early to give herself some time to get back into the swing of things before starting class. That's assuming, of course, that HER first day of class would have been on the 28th. Just because the semester starts that day doesn't mean her class(es) did.

Also, registration for the spring semester was ongoing through 1/30. It would have been considered "late" registration, which might have cost her a fee, but surely not more $$ than switching her flight would have cost her, right?

http://www.csi.cuny.edu/registrar/registration.php4

ETA: According to the school's website, they also have online registration available.

 

[tresptip]

Maybe it wasn't a murder at all.Maybe while she was taking a picture ,she tripped on something and fell on her head. Maybe she died close to someones residence who was afraid they would be charged for murder so they moved the body and stole her ipad and phone.

 

[tardislass]

According to the last Hurriyet news. She was killed by a single blow to the head which broke her skull. The police now say the blanket may have been there originally and that Sarai could have been killed soon after she disappeared due to the cold weather conditions. I'm thinking she may have been targeted by the isolation and never knew what hit her. So it seems like it was quick and sudden since there are no other marks on her.

 

[Walker]

You're right, but I would cut the "esp. female" and just say that most tourists of any origin usually look strange to locals -- and are unaware or choose to be unaware of local perceptions. Financial and power gaps between tourists and locals accentuate the danger of encounters; so too does cluelessness to local culture...

No idea yet how relevant any of that may be here.

I agree with what you are saying. Certainly the male tourists are clueless sometimes; however, the men seem to be perceived differently. Men mind their own business more; whereas the women, dressed in their tube tops & cut-offs, are always trying to involve themselves with the children and various political causes. Therefore, the men are seen as less threatening, and are resented less.

We don't really know what happened with SS yet. <modsnip>