GUILTY Turkey - Sarai Sierra, 33, NY woman murdered, Istanbul, 21 Jan 2013 - #2

[CMac2]

Do you think it's possible the Steven Sierra saw other emails btw Taylan and SS and that is why he was so accusatory to Taylan?
Do you hunk it's possible he erased them before turning of her gmail account to FBI either because he was in denial or to protect his own or Sarai's dignity?

Whether or not they had an affair or not, taylans story went from non-romantic to affair as the investigation heated up. There was a reason he didn't want to admit that at first. Perhaps because he felt bad for mr sierra and it had nothing to do with her death so he figured why make the wounds deeper OR because his relationship with her was connected to the crime and he was trying to distance himself....hmmm?

Didn't Taylan send her a ill meet you there message at 1245pm?.....and she was spotted by surveillance in serkeci walking to Sarayburnu at 1:15?..... Hmmmm seems plausible that she received the message....and Taylan just lied about where "there" was.

Also I know sarai friend says she doesn't believe a word of this because sarai wouldn't do this....but people we know very well often surprise us.

Yes, I think it probable that Steven saw emails between Taylan and SS, resulting in his abrupt tone when he email Taylan "where's my wife?" after she went missing. I don't necessarily thing SS email anything inappropriate to Taylan, but it's possible (likely?) that Taylan may have sent some inappropriate messages to her. Even flirtatious messages would be enough to make many spouses dislike/distrust the guy who's flirting with his wife.

Don't know if he would have erased them before turning them over. I tend to think not. I'd have kept every last one of them, especially if I was suspicious of Taylan's involvement the disappearance. OTH, depending on the context of the messages (assuming they even existed, of course), he might have deleted them to keep authorities from assuming SS had run off with Taylan willingly, and therefore not looking for her like they should have been.

My question is WHEN did Taylan make these statements about having sex with SS? Is this something he has stated all along, that LE has managed to keep concealed until now, or is this something he's only now coming up with, after media reports of semen found on the body? The timing of when LE got this information from him is important, IMO.

Finally, with regards to the friend who was supposed to accompany SS on the trip, and when she cancelled: I think it's possible that she did cancel months ago, but SS' family members chose not to share that initially. I probably would have done something similar, especially after people were so critical of SS for traveling alone. JMO.

 

[Yashim]

Ithink the drug mule story stems from not knowing why she went to Munich. She posted no pictures nor had friends there. In addition, the family wasn't forthcoming about that trip. Possible they didn't know why.

I don't think drug mule scenario makes sense. I used to think she even went there to collect her share. But not now. For example, how much's a kg. of cocain anyway? $30K or $40K? What would be her cut? %10? Is $4K really worth it?

 

[KuriousKev]

My first post here. Just want to say it’s not unheard of for sweet and nice people, even good mothers to have sex with relative strangers, yes even in a bar bathroom, and take risks when on vacation and go places and do things that they would never ever do at home. This was her first trip abroad, she was alone, maybe feeling free and independent for the first time in her life. It happens. It’s also possible some guy misread all the signals and felt betrayed by a promise never made. I think if they determine she was killed at or close to the place she was found, it indicates someone with a car, maybe offering to show her something “it’s right around here, up the hill”, or “Yes I get that it’s over, I'm fine with that, let’s just have lunch, to show there’s no hard feelings... hey let’s stop here first great view up there”. In MOO at some moment she let her guard down, or went against her instincts, perhaps to be polite, and realized too late that she made a dreadful mistake trusting someone and fought like hell. We’ve all been fooled by someone or something in our lives. Maybe Taylan did it, maybe someone totally different. The DNA under her nails should nail the perp. Then again, if Taylan did kill her, his story about the passionate meet-up in the bathroom might be a deceptive ploy to explain why his DNA is under her nails, “Oh she was clutching my back digging her nails in….”or maybe the police found scratches on him? The Turkish police seem to be acting responsibly in considering everything, staying tight lipped about what their interviews yield and waiting for the DNA, unlike the rush to judgment by police in the Amanda Knox case. Great forum by the way, some amazing insight here.

This is probably one of the most realistic comments I've read so far. It doesn't necessarily make a person bad for having a one night stand in a new and exciting foreign place. Happens all the time, involved or not ...I'm guilty

 

[ThinkHard]

The main reason that I don't believe she had romance or sex on her mind for this trip is simple. Her husband had access to her email and other social networking accounts. He knew her passwords.

This doesn't mean that someone in Turkey didn't have romance or sex on their mind. It also doesn't mean that she didn't get swept up in the adventure and hook up with someone. I just don't think anything torrid or passionate initiated the trip.

I don't think she went looking for romance either. But I wouldn't be surprised if she really developed trust over time with Taylan. And in person that trust turned into a little more. I'm certainly not suggesting a full blown affair as being her goal or purpose. I think Taylan made her feel good, in a butterfly way she hasn't in a while. Remember she has been married since she was 19...to her hs boyfriend...for 14 yrs.

Also what makes us think she didn't have a way to communicate that her husband don't know about or have the password too? How do we know she didn't Skype with him daily when her boys were at school and her husband was at work....

I'm not saying this IS how it was....but I don't really think we an say for sure it wasnt

 

[Yashim]

Hmm, could be Sarai asked for directions of the tour guides to go to the bridge/ruins and they decided to take advantage of the situation by following her. The tour guides would definitely know where the surveillance camera blind spots are.

No very likely. Those tour guides are "meeting" more women than Charlie Sheen.

 

[looking4answers]

Apparently this guy Taylan is from serkeci. So it wouldn't make sense for him to go all the way to her hostel to meet at the tower for one. Also we do not know if he has a car. So that part doesn't seem weird to me. Additionally about the videos I assume there is a lot of stuff she did in Istanbul that wasnt captured by surveillance. Also I believe there was mention of at least one surveillance spotting of Taylan with her, just not from that day.

The only reason I noted the number of photos was because she had also mentioned she didn't know much about the history of the city. So if she wasnt busy taking and editing photos to upload, like she did almost daily back in ny. And she wasnt sightseeing. It seems her time was spent more hanging out with other people. Perhaps Taylan perhaps others. It just doesn't seem that, if her whole focus of her trip was photography, that she spent the majority of the time on it. She was there two weeks and posted 6 photos! She was in Amsterdam fr 3 days and posted 5! That's doesn't seem a little odd to you?

Im not saying she was a drug mule or up to no good, i just think she spent more of her time there hanging out with people then she did on photography. And though that might not have been her original purpose in going there. It leads me to think that she enjoyed the company of the people she was with enough to be happy spending it with them.

I tend to agree with both of your statements, I was thinking similar thoughts.

 

[Yashim]

Unless they were just trying to make it look random, and frame someone else.

What if Taylan was part of some criminal group who sought out Sarai....maybe he wasnt just the bait but also the scapegoat. Maybe his superiors thought he did something sloppy that could lead the investigators in the right direction, and they want to make sue that direction stops with tayan.

Perhaps Taylan may be an undercover cop.

 

[KivaSupporter]

I'm 90% sure it's an Arabic name

That would be the first name, right? Last name?

 

[KivaSupporter]

I wondered the same. Especially since I saw a pic of her A'dam friend on train back somewhere right after they left each other. Though, there are pics from him waiting in A'dam airport, supposedly with her, then the train back. So maybe he just took a pic of him taking the train back from the A'dam airport to home? So not sure either way if she had company in Munich or if she was solo and what she did there for the day. Murky, but to me not very important. Munich is a rather benign city, especially in terms of criminal activity in comparison to A'dam. I would find Munich much less pointed as a clue to anything.

I missed this somehow. Would you please provide a link? Thanks.

 

[delal]

Apparently this guy Taylan is from serkeci. So it wouldn't make sense for him to go all the way to her hostel to meet at the tower for one.
The only reason I noted the number of photos was because she had also mentioned she didn't know much about the history of the city. So if she wasnt busy taking and editing photos to upload, like she did almost daily back in ny. And she wasnt sightseeing. It seems her time was spent more hanging out with other people. Perhaps Taylan perhaps others. It just doesn't seem that, if her whole focus of her trip was photography, that she spent the majority of the time on it. She was there two weeks and posted 6 photos! She was in Amsterdam fr 3 days and posted 5! That's doesn't seem a little odd to you?

Who said he's from Sirkeci?

In my experience with Turkish guys (especially those who are allegedly besotted with you), they would come and pick you up, if not from your home, at least at a more central place. Even more so if you're a foreigner and don't know the area that well and are alone.

Unless he works over that way and got off early.

Yes it does seem a bit strange regarding the photos but like I said, maybe she was a perfectionist and wanted to play with her photos before uploading them all. Or maybe she just didn't take many photos at all.

 

[lavy]

Apparently this guy Taylan is from serkeci.

How do we know that? Sorry.

 

[KivaSupporter]

Ah, Cmac2, you just haven't met a man like me!! Give me 2 hours, 2 hours I tell you, and my sweet talk would have you leaving everything to ride off into the sunset with me! The sunset I tell you!! :crazy:

Wow! Tell us more. I think you got our attention.

I am sorry. Surely you know I was kidding.

Of course, if Cmac2 is as incredibly attractive as she/he is intelligent and a wonderful person, well.... I leave it to you to comment

Sorry, everyone. I was just joking. Surely, you know that?

Still, I love the wonderful, sensitive thoughts... Cmarc2, it looks like you found a wonderful man.

i am jelaous. And married. Awww the dreams .....

For all of you who likes to criticize, I am joking. OK?

 

[Yashim]

Agree. I think the violence and the murder has to do with the perp(s) feeling that she engaged in adultery and needed to be duly punished for her supposed "crime" via stoning of some form. So it has to be someone who knew she was married. That should limit the suspect pool to peeps she met online and peeps she met in her travels whom she confided about her marital status.

This kind of torturous violence to "kill "someone is not quite heard of in Turkey. IMO, the violence of the attack suggests that the killer was relatively weak. That's why he/she obsessively hit her head.

Maybe, a 14-year old druggie.

 

[necco]

I think this is weird. She always gave her family too many details about the locations she'd visit. I would call my family to say I'm OK, but why give name of destinations? Having never been to Istanbul, they can't tell Galata Tower from Salata Tower anyway.

No, but her family can Google. She may have been giving them so much detail because she was using the trip also as a teachable moment for her kids. They could have Googled the places she was going. They might even have been "following" along with her. This would both teach them about geography AND have them feel involved in her trip.

 

[KivaSupporter]

Perhaps Taylan may be an undercover cop.

Yashim, that is an interesting question. I am wondering, if he were an undercover cop, what would that mean. Why the connection with Sarai?

By the way, I find it very interesting to hear opinions from all the people posting here, especially because they live in many different countries. What a great group! Please keep posting your opinions.

 

[looking4answers]

I missed this somehow. Would you please provide a link? Thanks.

Of course, I can't link to the actual image, but it is Ammer's IG account, I just use this while at work:

http://pinsta.me/devonmiles1981

Scroll down to what, 3 weeks ago I think now? Should have the pic of him on train, and the few before that of them at airport hanging out waiting. One is of a bunny/bunny costume I think while they were waiting, where him and Sarai make a joke about it.

 

[Yashim]

That would be the first name, right? Last name?

Did I write this before? Ammer can be short for "Muammer" which is also a male name in Turkey.

Sorry, he is no Muammer. He is even on IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3340088/

 

[ThinkHard]

Ya know what I just realized.

If we find out that this Taylan story is true, meaning not that it actually happened, but if he actually SAID it happened.....

Then we can conclude at least one of two things is true:

-either there was indeed some sort of mutual feelings between him and Sarai

Or

- he killed her.

If the story is true tha he said it. What good reason would he have to lie about having an affair with her? He's accounting for a reason his DNA is there ONLY because he knows that his DND could be found on her. DNA that could prove at least one of these two things is true. He'd have no reason to lie about about how it happened, and there is only two ways it could have gotten there.
Now he could be lying and he never did have a thing with sarai, but the only reason he would have to lie is to cover his tracks at the crime scene.

If they did have an affair that doesn't prove he killed her though.

 

[ThinkHard]

That would be the first name, right? Last name?

First name I believe.

 

[bourne]

This kind of torturous violence to "kill "someone is not quite heard of in Turkey. IMO, the violence of the attack suggests that the killer was relatively weak. That's why he/she obsessively hit her head.

Maybe, a 14-year old druggie.

Really? That's what you think? :floorlaugh:

Sorry, but that makes zero sense. Sarai's a grown 33-year-old woman in good physical shape. You think she wouldn't be able to at least injure her assailant -- like grab a stone herself and pummel a WEAK 14-year-old druggie?