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

[Herat]

I think that's exactly what it is but could that possibly be the actual place they found her? I wonder if anything in the article clarifies that.

No that's not where she was found. It's just a hole in the ground and some plywood sheets with a superimposed (reversed) photo of her from NYC.

Odd composition.

If you look at the video of the guys looking around the area by walking along the railroad tracks, you can see there is nothing that looks like that.

 

[EncyclopediaBrown]

you can hear a pin drop in here. have we run out of theories?

 

[belimom]

I see some discussion about the location. I posted this map in the 1st thread - not sure if this is the exact location but it's a good start (I think the location may actually be further around to the right?):

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8795717#post8795717

Here is an aerial photo of Sarayburnu. This looks like the area to me, when compared to photos where Sarai was found. Locals may have a better idea if this is correct or not:

http://istanbul.net.tr/img08/foto/sizin/buyuk/7/sarayburnu__uygarelmastasi.jpg

 

[SANDOVAL]

I hope we don't lose the other Turkish contributors.

Yes, without the Turkish members we won't be getting anything new from the reporting.

 

[CMac2]

To me, it looks like the usual photo of her but just flipped and then edited on top of the picture of the hole in the ground with the planks.

That's what I thought when I saw it. I was thinking maybe the media changed it up a little, for dramatic effect.

 

[ThinkHard]

SophieRose,
Thanks for this excellent picture.

After seeing this picture with the grandeur of the walls, I can easily believe that she walked along this sidewalk to go see this magnificent piece of history.

IMO, at some point while she was there one of two things happened:

While she was gazing at the walls from the sidewalk, she was approached by someone who offered to show her more of the walls and/or caves and she followed him/her up the steps into the isolated areas ....
OR
she was curious and entered the steps into the upper isolated area on her own thus subjecting herself to immediate danger.

It is so very sad her life ended this way.
Prayers for her family and friends.

It's possible to see how someone could venture there alone in pictures....but in person I can assure you it is creepy and uninviting. And I have an extremely hard time imagining how someone would be comfortable venturing in there alone.

 

[ThinkHard]

link :http://haberkibris.com/sarai-cinayetinde-her-dakika-yeni-detay-ortaya-cikiyor-2013-02-16.html

The cave she was found in is closed with plate iron and locked by the police..

http://haberkibris.com/staticimages/istihbarat_dehliz__2_.jpg

Is that blood in the archway?

 

[english]

Yes, without the Turkish members we won't be getting anything new from the reporting.

I've been checking the turkish news and not seen anything new.

 

[MURDERER_SERVANT]

That's not mentioned .. Also there is no development abt the case that we dont know in this news..

 

[ThinkHard]

Watching the video of sarai walking....

I know its hard to tell, but i just don't think the Sarai in that video (walking on kennedy on theib21st) is wearing that brown leather jacket we have always seen her in. Something about the coloring, and the way her top moves, it just doesn't look like she has a brown structured leather jacket on. ( perhaps it is just unzipped)

But the reason I think its weird, is because her jacket wasn't recovered at scene, and we keep wondering why someone would take her jacket, we have even speculated a few reasons for this. But what if she wasn't wearing that jacket that day.

IF she wasn't wearing it, and IF it wasn't found in her rented apartment. Then what happened to her jacket? Could she have left it somewhere the night before, perhaps whoever she was meeting was planning to bring it with them.

Or maybe the bulge we keep wondering about her carrying is her jacket. It was 63 that day, and if you were walking you may get warm enough to remove a leather coat.

(And those pants are definitely flared)

 

[Herat]

I see some discussion about the location. I posted this map in the 1st thread - not sure if this is the exact location but it's a good start (I think the location may actually be further around to the right?):

The location of the body was farther to the south (left). Those are three small arches. To the left is an area where the wall is almost touching the sidewalk. There are 4 tall arches, two almost touching the sidewalk, two farther back (one almost covered by a tree). To the LEFT of those 4 tall arches is an area with trees before one gets to the old tower. It's back by that left corner, right under a dense green tree in the aerial photo. On the riprap rock that is fronting the water, there is a faint white line. It's just across the street from that.

Where she accessed the other side of the wall is a question. The options are 1) along the railroad tracks from the north, 2) maybe on that diagnonal path by the three arches, 3) some other place.

LE tells us she was killed 328 ft from the cave. I'll presume it was north (right) of the cave as it's closer to the last surveillance photo, but it could also have been south (left) of the cave. The more southern area has much better maintained walls and is more open whereas the more northern area has more degraded walls and lots of tree cover.

All this because I can't put an arrow on a photo. sorry

 

[Herat]

Is that blood in the archway?

I think it's likely soot from old fires.

 

[Herat]

Something about the coloring, and the way her top moves, it just doesn't look like she has a brown structured leather jacket on. ( perhaps it is just unzipped)

Or maybe the bulge we keep wondering about her carrying is her jacket. It was 63 that day, and if you were walking you may get warm enough to remove a leather coat.

(And those pants are definitely flared)

The still, close-up shot with the step and the flowerpot looks to me like she has a jacket on. There is also a reflection of something shiny on the area that would be the left lapel. None of the NYC photos have ever shown anything on the left lapel.

 

[Herat]

Strange no news about the hunt for Mr. Z.

 

[CMac2]

Strange no news about the hunt for Mr. Z.

Maybe the DNA they ran using what his family gave them came back as no match?

At this point, I'm completely out of ideas. It seems like we've run through every possible scenario, and have done so a thousand times. Nothing adds up to anything, because too many pieces are missing or are constantly changing. It's like trying to put together a 500 piece puzzle with only 25 pieces. Maddening!

 

[ThinkHard]

I think it's likely soot from old fires.

No the red mark....though I doubt blood would be that bright red.

 

[EncyclopediaBrown]

Strange no news about the hunt for Mr. Z.

i am not convinced he was the lone killer...but I hope they nabbed him.

 

[EncyclopediaBrown]

No the red mark....though I doubt blood would be that bright red.

saw that too. spray paint? I would hope they wouldn't leave blood stains...creepy.

 

[zarra30]

Does anyone familiar with Istanbul know, or have an idea where the last video of the lady walking on highway is? Is it far from where she was found? A short walk, a long walk?

 

[Sandstorm]

It's possible to see how someone could venture there alone in pictures....but in person I can assure you it is creepy and inviting. And I have an extremely hard time imagining how someone would be comfortable venturing in there alone.

ThinkHard,
You point is taken.

However, let us consider her modus operandi in every respect of her travels :

~meeting up with men in a foreign country that she had only met online,

~traveling alone to a second foreign country she had never visited, and then spending the night in a house of a guy she had only met online

~renting a room in a hostel that was in an unsafe area for a woman alone,

~talking and walking with strangers on the streets of Istanbul where she had never even visited,

~always being seen alone shopping, eating, etc.

Considering all of these behaviors, I do not have a hard time at all imagining Sarai venturing into the wall areas with or without someone.

In fact, it is my opinion that the decision to venture into the walls would be completely in line with the rest of her decisions and behaviors on this trip.

The world is not a safe place. One only has to read the daily news in any country to know that innocent people are victims of robbery, rape, beatings and/or murder on a daily basis even when they are taking all precautions to be safe.

But when females, in particular, throw caution to the wind they put themselves in immediate danger.
And IMO, Sarai threw caution to the wind in every respect of her behavior and decisions.
I am very sorry she was blinded to reality and did not know better, because she paid the ultimate price: her life.