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

[Herat]

My EXACT thoughts when I 1st looked at that video. Yes, it took some doing to get her in there.

We know that Z does labor at moving garbage and stuff around. I think that any reasonably fit person who is fired up could have drug her around and put her in the walled archway where she was found. It is actually downhill from the paths around it.

 

[Rolandred]

As a visitor to a foreign city you sometimes don't read the danger signs, they're different from what you may encounter in NYC..in fact they may appear much less dangerous than what you would consider threatening coming from a city like NYC. Even here in the states one can make this same mistake. Take a drive through Compton, LA, initially you may not read the area as dangerous, gang infested or a 'bad neighborhood' because of the single family homes but make no mistake there are killers living in those homes.

Right, I agree. One has to prepare ahead and just know about the safe and unsafe areas. I feel bad for her that she was not advised by locals or her IG "friends" about places not to go alone - or maybe they told her Istanbul was safe everywhere. I guess for me personally, anywhere where I am alone and do not see anyone around - ANYWHERE - country, beach, city, forest...extra alert!

 

[KuriousKev]

Right, I agree. One has to prepare ahead and just know about the safe and unsafe areas. I feel bad for her that she was not advised by locals or her IG "friends" about places not to go alone - or maybe they told her Istanbul was safe everywhere.

I think SS relied on her Istanbul connection for travel advice and sightseeing but at some point maybe she felt her connect wasn't as helpful as she would have liked, leaving her to fend for herself most of her time there.

I guess for me personally, anywhere where I am alone and do not see anyone around - ANYWHERE - country, beach, city, forest...extra alert!

I'm a guy and I'm the same way.

 

[CMac2]

Right, I agree. One has to prepare ahead and just know about the safe and unsafe areas. I feel bad for her that she was not advised by locals or her IG "friends" about places not to go alone - or maybe they told her Istanbul was safe everywhere. I guess for me personally, anywhere where I am alone and do not see anyone around - ANYWHERE - country, beach, city, forest...extra alert!

But maybe she had no intention of going anywhere alone, and was meeting someone there...

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[KuriousKev]

We know that Z does labor at moving garbage and stuff around. I think that any reasonably fit person who is fired up could have drug her around and put her in the walled archway where she was found. It is actually downhill from the paths around it.

Not to mention the fear of getting caught...under those circumstances your adrenaline is flowing and you have superhuman endurance.

 

[Herat]

I think SS relied on her Istanbul connection for travel advice and sightseeing but at some point maybe she felt her connect wasn't as helpful as she would have liked, leaving her to fend for herself most of her time there.

Yes. I keep getting a sense of disappointment in what her IG friends didn't do for her. Being left to fend for herself is a good way to put it.

 

[NewYork625]

So how does LE have a photo of "Z" ? Has he been arrested/detained before? Does he have a criminal history? Where has the photo printed in the press come from? Who released it? How do they have a full photo portrait of a paper/garbage collector on file? Okay...in US I don't think this would be possible unless a previous arrest and personally, the guy looks mean and scary...

LE visited Z's family, and may have acquired the photo from them. In the photo he looks very clean cut, and I imagine quite different than he must have appeared to SS.

 

[citizenofworld]

Yes. I keep getting a sense of disappointment in what her IG friends didn't do for her. Being left to fend for herself is a good way to put it.

Why would Instagram contacts/"friends" be by her side the entire time? That makes no sense to me. They're just photo buddies, as far as we know. Sure, meet, but take care of? Why? My question is - who are her brother's purported friends in Turkey that some have said have links to her church (maybe a missionary or converts). And why wouldn't she have seen them? Why do we only know the name of 1 person (real name or not - Taylan K.) she saw in Istanbul, when reports say she saw 4-5 people while in Istanbul? I would assume they are not including her landlord, either, as he was named when she was still missing.

 

[Herat]

Why would Instagram contacts/"friends" be by her side the entire time? That makes no sense to me. They're just photo buddies, as far as we know. Sure, meet, but take care of? Why? My question is - who are her brother's purported friends in Turkey that some have said have links to her church (maybe a missionary or converts). And why wouldn't she have seen them? Why do we only know the name of 1 person (real name or not - Taylan K.) she saw in Istanbul, when reports say she saw 4-5 people while in Istanbul? I would assume they are not including her landlord, either, as he was named when she was still missing.

That's a thought about church friends, but I don't recall any mention that she had any church contacts or friends in Turkey. It's never been otherwise mentioned by LE.

Single travel is hard, and two weeks is an unusually long time to stay in one city, in my experience, even in a city as full o history and beauty as Istanbul. Especially if people don't speak your language, signs are not in your language, and the currency is different. The novelty turns to stress after a couple of days. If she had been in a nice hotel, there is usually a restaurant or lounge on can go to for a little relief from the room, maybe a pool or exercise area. In a hostel, there always people to talk to and people to join for dinner or touring out and about. That little apt must have been really dreary at night. Not in a safe area. Tiny. The TV is likely all in Turkish so it's not as if you are keeping up on current events or watching movies in your own language. I can see why you would want to maximize your daylight activities out and away from there, and I imagine she was up and out early every day. TaylanK turns out to be not much of a companion. Who knows who any of the others are.

I see her being very homesick and very ready to leave on Jan 21. So what was it that was so important behind those walls?

 

[NewYork625]

This photo shows how close the tracks are to the other side of the wall. Looking at this photo I can imagine SS might have wandered her to photograph the tracks. Does anyone know how far this is from where she was found?

 

[Yellow]

Why would Instagram contacts/"friends" be by her side the entire time? That makes no sense to me. They're just photo buddies, as far as we know. Sure, meet, but take care of? Why? My question is - who are her brother's purported friends in Turkey that some have said have links to her church (maybe a missionary or converts). And why wouldn't she have seen them? Why do we only know the name of 1 person (real name or not - Taylan K.) she saw in Istanbul, when reports say she saw 4-5 people while in Istanbul? I would assume they are not including her landlord, either, as he was named when she was still missing.

The brother did not have friends in Istanbul. When brother and hubby had to go their friends of friends arranged for someone to set them up to stay.

SS would not have visited them. They only came into the picture once she went missing and I guess they searched for someone to stay with bc they could not afford it. Maybe it was arranged by the church

 

[Herat]

This photo shows how close the tracks are to the other side of the wall. Looking at this photo I can imagine SS might have wandered her to photograph the tracks. Does anyone know how far this is from where she was found?

I can't get enough detail out of that photo to figure out exactly where it is

However, duh. Googlearth has a measuring frame.

I measure about 40 ft between the walled arch she was found in and the grassy edge of the railroad track bed.

I also find that 100m north of the walled arch is not quite yet to the diagonal path we see by the three arches.

I surmise she was attacked between the diagonal path and the walled arch, not farther north.

 

[writer411]

But not the "red shirt lady." Her beautiful hair and lovely figure are on display. Why? Because that woman is about to meet someone that she wants to impress with her beauty. Maybe they met, maybe not. But if that is Sarai...suddenly she s dressed to call attention to her attractiveness.

well, i guess we can presume she was thinking that said taylan might show as the published transcript of her last text messages indicate. i imagine she might be inclined to dress up if one believes the pair had a romantic encounter the night b 4. Who she ended up encountering is the matter at hand. Personally, ive always wondered why she wasnt more focused on going to the airport the day she was set to leave istanbul.

 

[writer411]

Why would Instagram contacts/"friends" be by her side the entire time? That makes no sense to me. They're just photo buddies, as far as we know. Sure, meet, but take care of? Why? My question is - who are her brother's purported friends in Turkey that some have said have links to her church (maybe a missionary or converts). And why wouldn't she have seen them? Why do we only know the name of 1 person (real name or not - Taylan K.) she saw in Istanbul, when reports say she saw 4-5 people while in Istanbul? I would assume they are not including her landlord, either, as he was named when she was still missing.

this always struck me as strange, that she would have gone all the way to turkey for such a lonely photo outing. if she went to meet taylan, they would have had to spend alot of time together to make it worth it. in almost two weeks, on the surface, it seems that she had very little contact with anyone in the city, then ends up dead. even in a'dam, she saw only that one guy. i still think this was a random thing, but nothing SS did helps even a random occurence sit well.

 

[Herat]

Personally, ive always wondered why she wasnt more focused on going to the airport the day she was set to leave istanbul.

Her flight left about 11am on Jan 22.

She had all of Jan 21 day and night in Istanbul before leaving for the airport the next day.

 

[writer411]

i see. didnt realize she disappered the day before she was supposed to leave. all this time, somehow i thought it was the day of her planned departure. i wonder what her family made of not hearing from her that night since she supposedly called every night with a report of her days activities. its all water under the bridge now, but seems like that should have been the first red flag.

 

[zarra30]

The train theory seems REALLY far-fetched to me, but to follow up on it, is this a commuter train? From where to where? And if, as we know, "Z" had to provide some sort of identity (which he falsified) to get a bus ticket, what sort of ID, if any, does one have to provide to ride a train/commuter train in Turkey?

Anyway, seems to me it would be mighty hard to have even a dead body in a bag on a train (anywhere) that weighs 100 lbs. never mind a live one (????), and toss it off at some random spot. And yes, I'm totally familiar with European trains and those spaces in between cars. Still...seems completely impossible.

I agree. The live person thrown off a train totally seems impossible, a car would make more sense.
Dead person very unlikely to transport on a train too, though criminals have been known to transport just about everything except clothes in large wheeled suitcases. But I don't think an adult body could fit in one.

 

[zarra30]

Yes. I keep getting a sense of disappointment in what her IG friends didn't do for her. Being left to fend for herself is a good way to put it.

But think about it. We have absolutely no idea how she spent her days or nights. All we've seen is a 3 second shot of her getting her bags from the airport alone and a 5 second video of her in a mall maybe shopping or looking at pics or having a bite, and a video that is alleged to be her walking on the 21st.

There were many days before Amst spent in Istanbul and tons of hours where we have no idea what she was doing or with who. She can't speak, her family and friends are being silent and the LE probably (hopefully) have lots of information about her under wraps. Doesn't mean she was alone or isolated, it's just an image we're projecting on her.

 

[KuriousKev]

But think about it. We have absolutely no idea how she spent her days or nights. All we've seen is a 3 second shot of her getting her bags from the airport alone and a 5 second video of her in a mall maybe shopping or looking at pics or having a bite, and a video that is alleged to be her walking on the 21st.

There were many days before Amst spent in Istanbul and tons of hours where we have no idea what she was doing or with who. She can't speak, her family and friends are being silent and the LE probably (hopefully) have lots of information about her under wraps. Doesn't mean she was alone or isolated, it's just an image we're projecting on her.

Had to log back in just to 'like' this.

 

[writer411]

There were many days before Amst spent in Istanbul and tons of hours where we have no idea what she was doing or with who. She can't speak, her family and friends are being silent and the LE probably (hopefully) have lots of information about her under wraps. Doesn't mean she was alone or isolated, it's just an image we're projecting on her.

i dont doubt ss had contact with ppl in istanbul while she was there, bkuz i suspect she went there for a specific reason unrelated to photography. if it was the u.s., LE would have interviewed the family to get insight into her movements, since theyll be the only ones who know who she talked to and what she did, maybe. just throwing weird stuff out there, i find it interesting that the family had enough of a connection in turkey to come up with a homestay for the brother and husband. not saying theres anything sinister going on, just maybe there was a greater pull to turkey than a loose thread of ig connections.