This is my first post, so please bear with me.
I am extremely fascinated by this case for a number of reasons: I live in Munich, I'm a young woman who travels often (and occasionally alone), and I've been to Istanbul.
There are few things I'd like to offer up...
- I don't think her electronics will be recovered, because they are likely disposed of in the water. It's obvious they weren't stolen for their material worth, but because they held some sort of evidence - otherwise her jewelry would have been taken, too. Someone who knows her through IG would also be aware she had more images than were posted online. These fill the gaps as to who she was with and what she was doing. Were these things used by the killer? Reports state some of her accounts were accessed post-mortem. Hopefully they have also searched the water nearby.
- It would be interesting to know how she spent her time and with whom. If she spoke with her husband and boys it's likely she didn't disclose fully that she was meeting with new friends, but surely she would have said what she saw, ate, or experienced to a point.
- An article I read also made it sound like she just had a long layover in MUC, but the days don't add up. I don't believe she took the train between AMS and MUC. They don't stamp passports in the Schengen Zone or at the train station, so she only would have had her passport stamped at the airport upon departure. Oftentimes flights are cheaper than the train anyway and that is one long journey, but it could account for some of her missing days that no one seems to give any attention to. Taking the train is also a bit romantic and sounds less expensive, although it typically isn't. The Daily Mail article states she "flew to AMS and MUC the next day", which sounds like flights between the two... but again, the dates are off.
- Munich is a very safe city, but it is also expensive. For being on a major budget this isn't a place I'd stay for several days. I find it very interesting there is literally no information about her visit, which reports vary from 1-3 days. If she did stay here she likely stayed with someone through AirBnB or she stayed at a hostel near the main train station, which coincidentally is in the heavily Turkish area of the city. I haven't even seen much in the news here about this case. I don't believe she actually spent the night here. The airport in MUC has free wifi for 30 minutes. Again... why so few photos to her IG account?
- I wondered about the trafficking gold, jewelry, or drug angle, only because Istanbul is a crossroads, it's quick money, and the unpredictability of drugs / sinister characters in the trafficking world could account for her brutal death. If that was the case, she likely wouldn't have needed to phone her husband for cash to change her ticket... unless someone wanted her to take something back to the US before wiring money, which could explain her urgent need to change her ticket at whatever cost. She didn't know how to say no, but decided it wasn't a good idea, thus changing her ticket to get out of there ASAP. From what I read it was 4 days before the intended departure, so the $400+ ticketing fee is hefty.
- It mentioned in one article that it was the left side of her head, which was beaten. If that is the case this is also something that would be the same if she was traveling as a passenger in a vehicle. I am guessing she wasn't moved to the scene, but it just gave me pause. Seeing as she was likely beaten with a rock or her head was hit on something it also seems this wasn't premeditated. According to NY Daily News "A worker who viewed Sierras body before it was taken to the airport told The News on Wednesday that she had severe bruises on her legs and scratches on her wrists." The more recent, if not always reliable Daily Mail, also states her torso had bruising and her right hip was injured. Very violent.
- This article states "Taylan" AKA TK is 30 years old. It also gives Ammer's full name.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-305...issing-new-yorker-met-with-her-on-jan-20.html
- Ammer looks uncannily like her husband. As for the "street art" she'd be better going to Berlin. She went to AMS because of him / having a free place to stay.
- I am undecided on the Tarkan sex angle. There are so many places to have sex, so a bathroom at a club sounds off. It isn't impossible, obviously, but I don't know people who this is common place for, nor I have I stumbled upon it. It sounds like something gossip rags thrive on.
- She was seen wearing her wedge boots at the airport and also at the food court shortly before her disappearance. This
photo is from instagram (and the only time I've seen it), but it shows a bag that could easily contain extra shoes. If only we knew if it was the same / the type of shoes. I think this photo was from the NYC subway.
Here's my theory:
While her marriage has no bearing on what happened to her / is not my business this is my pure speculation...
She and her husband had hit a rough patch and she was excited to find some independence and admiration from the IG community. As many have stated she was a very young mother who likely was searching for her own identity now that her children were a bit older.
She likely met online "friends" from Istanbul and decided she "knew" people, it was reasonably affordable compared to the usual European destinations and let's not forget she probably did relish in being admired. She's a red blooded woman who has been with the same man for a long long time, so there's a bit of romance in going off to visit this exotic foreign land and finally doing something for herself in the meantime. These men gave her attention and she entertained it. Not good, not bad, just what it is.
To me, it's clear she was looking for something. The photography is a bit of a ruse considering she'd spend gobs of money to take the trip, which sounds as though was tight, to document things with a camera phone / ipad. Surely someone she knew had a better camera she could borrow. I get, but don't understand, that IG is a photo subculture. I'm also curious as to why she posted so few photos to IG - isn't the greatness of it the immediacy of sharing? Those answers unfortunately are locked up with her missing electronics, which I am going to guess are submerged in the Bosphorus.
She stayed with men, which gives me pause for the stability of her marriage, although several reports indicate she was staying with her parents before the trip. I am not one to think women and men cannot be friends, but there isn't much indication these new "friends" (all of whom happen to be men) knew about her life back home. The flirty tone of "You show me yours, I'll show you mine" on IG is very suggestive.
We have a sizable Turkish population here in Munich and the men can be very savvy with their flattery, which is quite easy to mistake for friendliness, especially because she likely did get lonely being gone for so long. The moment she would interact with anyone in Istanbul they would know she was a foreign woman and likely alone, which doesn't make her a target in my eyes as much as a source for curiosity.
Isn't part of traveling the fun element of being out of your comfort zone? You take chances you otherwise wouldn't, you try new foods, you talk to new people. It's all exciting.
Unfortunately for SS it sounds as though there was a major lapse in communication. For some reason someone became violently angry towards her. We all want to know why, because it offers us some sort of reassurance that things like this don't just happen or that we could somehow avoid it ourselves.
The person who did this left some identity markers: her license and jewelry, so she could be identified at some point.
I hope this tangled web can be figured out soon for her family and loved ones.
My neighborhood is swarmed with them now...I guess I did out myself there!!!
