GUILTY Turkey - Sarai Sierra, 33, NY woman murdered, Istanbul, 21 Jan 2013 - #4

[Herat]

A second, turkish cellphone could provide absolutely essential information about her local activies and contacts.

I concur with ToutCa that it might have been left behind because she had run out of minutes and had no need to waste money on a card that would be only partially used.

It's only 9 days since she was found and the complete DNA analysis and toxicology is likely not yet finalized, although a pattern is likely becoming very clear.

I wonder if one of the other 3 (or 4?) contacts has not yet been located or fled the country.

 

[ToutCa]

:banghead:

There is no second cell phone, Lavy. There was only a mobile phone battery charger. Probably the Turkish press used the term "cep telefonu şarjı" (mobile phone charger) and google translated as "charged mobile phone".

Our guys were doing great, so I just didn't want to interfere and correct them.

Very interesting!!!!!!! -- I'm not sure it's so clear, though.

Welp, Yashim, if you're right, you just forced us to eliminate like 10% of our speculation on this case where we went round and round on the one phone, the two phones, the "Turkish phone", and what they mean!

But...if you're right, why was there so much talk of "we can't track her, her phone was in her room"? That was in the press of both countries.

And why has the missing phone been constantly referred to by LE and the press as her "American phone"?

I dunno if this has really been cleared up yet.

 

[ThinkHard]

It seems weird to me that up till this trip she was in contact with him thought Instagram ? why not stick to that form of communication? She was suppose to be on a shoe string budget yet buys a turkish phone. idk

First wifi is not readily availabe, second you can buy a very cheap Turkish cell phone simply by walking into a turkcell.

 

[ThinkHard]

But, someone would have had to have informed her of this. I travel frequently and have NEVER bought a phone elsewhere. That's not to say people don't do it, but if she was totally inexperienced and this was her first abroad trip.

I think someone would have either had to accompany her to purchase it, bought it for her ahead of time, or at least given her the heads up on how to go about doing this. Especially coming from the US where cell phones are often with contracts and quite expensive.

I don't think it would have been too hard to figure out on her own. She could have researched it before she left, or on one of her first days walked into a turkcell or other carrier, for which stores are numerous on istikal, and asked them about it. They could have easily directed her to a cheap phone.

 

[lavy]

:banghead:

There is no second cell phone, Lavy. There was only a mobile phone battery charger. Probably the Turkish press used the term "cep telefonu şarjı" (mobile phone charger) and google translated as "charged mobile phone".

Our guys were doing great, so I just didn't want to interfere and correct them.

I know Yashim. I thought the same about translation. I've been saying that from the first thread and feeling like nobody hears me.

I am so impressed by the technical conversation about the phones. And the truth is nothing is certain in the case anyway. But the fact that everybody is discussing this in detail kills me :banghead:

 

[Herat]

So--

was there a second phone or not?

Are we just repeating each other's bad information?

 

[ToutCa]

Can you please cite this. It would be helpful. If that's the case it doesn't make sense that he was not more involved in helping the investigation.:waitasec:

Yes - LINK and LINK

You can also look up Taylan's lawyer's statement to the press, which tells the same story. They met on Instagram about 4 months before her trip, and continued an online relationship through IG and gmail up until her trip.

 

[Munich]

BBM

I've read all the discussion in thread #1. I also read almost all the news related to the case never ever seen that.

Turkish LE never said such thing. If you prove me wrong I'll accept how dumb I am and send 100 donuts (or chopsticks if you prefer) to you.

This article states:
"Her belongings, including her passport, phone, phone chargers, and medical cards, were found in her room at a hostel in Beyoglu, Turkey. An official said authorities were therefore not able to track her by her cell phone."

January 30:
A Skype call was placed on her American cell phone

January 31:
Sierra's cell phone was activated again

[LINK]

This may be a case of semantics or lost in translation things, but saying "American cell phone" does imply there is another phone, too.

 

[Yashim]

There was a lot of discussion of this I think on Thread #1.

The "two phones" theory started because LE and mainstream media stated her "Turkish phone" was found in her room. Turkish LE said officially many times they could not track her by her phone pings because she left her "Turkish phone" in her room.

It has further been stated and confirmed that her "American phone" and iPad were missing from the scene of the crime -- and still are missing.

There is no concrete proof she had two phones, but I would say most observers of the case have deduced "two phones" by the preponderance of the evidence.

FWIW

ToutCA,

You're making up your own facts. You're off the case. Please turn in your badge and your weapon.

 

[ToutCa]

I know Yashim. I thought the same about translation. I've been saying that from the first thread and feeling like nobody hears me.

I am so impressed by the technical conversation about the phones. And the truth is nothing is certain in the case anyway. But the fact that everybody is discussing this in detail kills me :banghead:

I do hear you, Lavy, and I remember very well the talk that the press may have mistranslated "phone charger" as "phone".

But it doesn't make sense that the press kept carrying on about how they couldn't track her via pings because she left her local phone in her room.

Why wouldn't they just say they couldn't track her by pings because she had only her American phone?

It's never been cleared up for sure -- but yes, you're very right. It's possible she only ever had the one American phone.

 

[ThinkHard]

Can we clarify if she knew TK prior to going to Turkey? It seemed to me that she met him there?

It's been mentioned many many many many times that the started speaking in instant gram 4 months before she arrived in Turkey.

You keep focusing on the drug angle, but you haven't even considered a fact like that that had been discussed so frequently, clearly tells me your hypothesis is not taking into consideration every angle of this case!

 

[Kluver13]

I haven't seen this article before, but it has a very comprehensive detail of how she spent her last day, which I believe was pasted together through footage from the CCTV cameras.

It also includes some images for people who have not been to Istanbul if you need help visualizing it.

[LINK]

Thanks for this. Its an interesting narrative. The only "new" thing I could glean from the article is the statement that she was killed by blows from a heavy object to the back of the head and carried to the site she was found. I guess this rules out the bloody rock found at the site that was the presumed murder weapon.

 

[Herat]

Grrrr.

All so frustrating.

My boss and my family would like Turkish LE to release information so I can get back to real life.

 

[ToutCa]

So--

was there a second phone or not?

Are we just repeating each other's bad information?

No proof either way.

Yashim needs to use his LE connections to just get us a ****ing list of what they recovered in her room, along with the current status of DNA tests, her gmail and online chats, and who they are leaning toward right now and why.

Yashim?

 

[Yashim]

I do here you, Lavy, and I remember very well the talk that the press may have mistranslated "phone charger" as "phone".

But it doesn't make sense that the press kept carrying on about how they couldn't track her via pings because she left her local phone in her room.

Why wouldn't they just say they couldn't track her by pings because she had only her American phone?

It's never been cleared up for sure -- but yes, you're very right. It's possible she only ever had the one American phone.

If there really is a mention of a second cell phone in the Turkish press, they must have picked it up from our discussions.

You see, what you've done ToutCA!

 

[Herat]

Thanks for this. Its an interesting narrative. The only "new" thing I could glean from the article is the statement that she was killed by blows from a heavy object to the back of the head and carried to the site she was found. I guess this rules out the bloody rock found at the site that was the presumed murder weapon.

And I still think the fact that LE have never released any
"missing person" photos that show her Jan 21 to be of significance.

There is information there that they don't want the public (like us) to suss and speculate about.

 

[ToutCa]

BBM

I've read all the discussion in thread #1. I also read almost all the news related to the case never ever seen that.

Turkish LE never said such thing. If you prove me wrong I'll accept how dumb I am and send 100 donuts (or chopsticks if you prefer) to you.

OK, Lavy, I defer to your knowledge!

It was reported in the press that Turkish LE said that. I've read so many hundreds of articles on this case I will never remember where. Give me a few minutes to try to track it down...if I can...

 

[ThinkHard]

This is how I see it as well. It seems to me that she met TK there and was enamoured and maybe even lonely and bored since she had traveled alone. I've traveled to Cyprus with family and have gotten lonely and bored anyway. Three weeks is pretty much my limit.

Maybe she felt let down by the trip and he was one person she knew so she was pestering him not necessarily out of romantic needs but just because he was a friend she met there and wanted companionship.

Which side of Cyprus? Just curious.

 

[Munich]

I don't think it would have been too hard to figure out on her own. She could have researched it before she left, or on one of her first days walked into a turkcell or other carrier, for which stores are numerous on istikal, and asked them about it. They could have easily directed her to a cheap phone.

A first time traveler who is coming from the US where phones aren't so cheap simply deciding to get a phone could happen, but I think if this is the case then someone tipped her off on that. Someone who wanted to be in contact when they want to or needed her.

Also, interesting to consider the angle that whomever was attacking her clearly didn't seem concerned she could contact authorities.

If she did have a Turkish phone as some sources say, then it's awfully coincidental that she had a phone which was left in her room while she was being attacked.

 

[ToutCa]

Thanks for this. Its an interesting narrative. The only "new" thing I could glean from the article is the statement that she was killed by blows from a heavy object to the back of the head and carried to the site she was found. I guess this rules out the bloody rock found at the site that was the presumed murder weapon.

Unfortunately, it doesn't rule it out.

That article was pulling the "killed elsewhere" part from a purely speculative article earlier in the Turkish press about one (of the many) theories of the crime LE was entertaining.

Lavy later pointed out what you are getting at here: either they found the murder weapon on scene (rock), or the body was transported.

It seems ridiculous to try and believe both.