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

[NewYork625]

So he had already volunteered an alibi as to why he might observed in the general area, without getting too specific about Kennedy area?

and the sex story, if true, also provided an alibi...

 

[CMac2]

So he had already volunteered an alibi as to why he might observed in the general area, without getting too specific about Kennedy area?

Yep. Exactly. I always thought the reason he placed himself so close to the scene of the crime was because he couldn't be 100% sure no surveillance/tourist/local had seen him there. If someone came forward and placed him at the scene, he needed a reason for being there.

 

[english]

As far as I know, T's story is that they attempted to make plans to meet at the Bridge. That SS had asked him where she should go on her last full day of sight seeing, and he recommended the bridge (even though she'd already been there previously- another thing I found odd). He says they never actually connected, though. He claims there were technology issues with their messages not being delivered, but also says he went to the bridge that morning to meet her, but didn't see her there.

He didn't say anything to LE about meeting her at the walls, but I think some sleuthers here said they saw pics of the walls on his IG page? Something like that, anyway.

I don't think T recommended visiting the bridge. If he lives that side of the water it is just an obvious meeting point. If, as claimed, he never received her messages, T could be considered a gentleman for going to the bridge and trying to meet up with her rather than leave her wandering the city alone.

 

[Herat]

If she was having someone take tourist photos of her on her last day in Istanbul, she would have the cap off, the hair pretty and long- not crimped from a cap, wearing a bright red shirt, wearing earrings and her nice pants, maybe even not in those boots?

You know - He're are some lovely photos of me taken with the Bosphorus in the background, the old city, etc. etc.

Maybe suggested by someone else?

Hmmmmmmm

I can hear it now: "You're so pretty, you should be a model. I'd love to take some pretty shots of you..."

 

[Herat]

I don't think T recommended visiting the bridge. If he lives that side of the water it is just an obvious meeting point. If, as claimed, he never received her messages, T could be considered a gentleman for going to the bridge and trying to meet up with her rather than leave her wandering the city alone.

Yashim seemed to think he lived on the same side of the bridge as the apartment in Beloglu

 

[ThinkHard]

Did T tell her about the walls? Had he photographed them? Had they planned to go to the walls together? I can't remember now...

I don't know if he told her about them. But early on when I google imaged @taylloo images of those very walls, were ones he had posted on his IG account. I think they have since been taken down.

So my guess is he had known about the walls. However one could also speculate that other Istanbul based Igers also knew about those walls, for photo opps. So who knows who told her about them.

But based on her appearance that day. Hair down, smaller bag, I have too agree with Herat. I think she had something on her mind that day, other then photography at least other then just photography. I really think she was going to meet someone there.

Again I'm basing that on the way she was dressed, and the fact that even if she wondered down Kennedy just randomly, I really don't think anyone least of all a lone female would want to cross that road and wonder into those walls. It just has a creepy vibe, and like I said I give her more credit then that.

 

[english]

I had assumed she had been wearing the cap with her hair tucked up under it to appear modest and blend in. Maybe when she saw that not everyone dressed that way, she felt more comfortable being herself. Perhaps she was out for a walk and happened upon the ruins and thought it was a good place to take some photos.

I'd assumed she was wearing the hat as it was cold. The pictures from the last day show the sun was out so maybe she didn't need the hat.

 

[CMac2]

Unless he had planned on robbery, rape or murder, the only reason I can think that he would have mentioned the walls would be to tell her to stay away from them. We know he has a phone and computer so didn't need to rob her of those, if the tales of the previous night are to be believed the motive was not rape and, personally, I do not believe he had reached such an emotional attachment to murder.

But what if the motivation for taking the electronic devices had nothing to do with greed, and everything to do with hiding evidence/covering one's tracks? If he did kill her, he knew there was at least some amount of documentation regarding their communications on her electronic devices. He could have taken them to access her accounts and delete those communications.

We know the phone was activated twice a week or so after her disappearance. Why? Did someone turn it on to delete certain evidence?

This, IMO, would explain why the electronic devices were taken, but not the jewelry. A simple robbery is not the motive (again, JMO).

 

[ThinkHard]

I thought it was just your demeanor- you know, the cranky-metropolitan type. Just kidding. Your absence was noticed and missed. Welcome back! :seeya:

Haha, thanks CMac2. No no not metropolitan crankiness....even though I lived in Manhattan for 3 years when I go back to visit I still find myself surprised at just how jaded city folks can be. I actually grew up in a small New England town.

My crankiness was more about how frustrating this case is, and I'd like to blame lyme a bit too, its no fun, really messes with your entire body, and def tests your patience. At least I hope it's the lyme and not just me being a thoroughly impatient person...I can only hope

 

[english]

Yashim seemed to think he lived on the same side of the bridge as the apartment in Beloglu

You're right. I should have remembered that from the police station he went to. Do we know which side of the bridge T supposedly went to look for her?

 

[NewYork625]

I don't know if he told her about them. But early on when I google imaged @taylloo images of those very walls, were ones he had posted on his IG account. I think they have since been taken down.

So my guess is he had known about the walls. However one could also speculate that other Istanbul based Igers also knew about those walls, for photo opps. So who knows who told her about them.

But based on her appearance that day. Hair down, smaller bag, I have too agree with Herat. I think she had something on her mind that day, other then photography at least other then just photography. I really think she was going to meet someone there.

Again I'm basing that on the way she was dressed, and the fact that even if she wondered down Kennedy just randomly, I really don't think anyone least of all a lone female would want to cross that road and wonder into those walls. It just has a creepy vibe, and like I said I give her more credit then that.

I am honestly confused. When T asked her if she was wireless, could he have contacted her some other way after the last known messages between them? Maybe telling her he overslept and missed seeing her at the bridge, and suggesting they meet in another place? Does that make any sense?

Also, she had expected the meet him that morning, so maybe that's why she was dressed as she was?

 

[CMac2]

At least I hope it's the lyme and not just me being a thoroughly impatient person...I can only hope

O/T but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and the symptoms are very similar to Lyme disease. In fact, a lot of people are often misdiagnosed as having RA that actually suffer from lyme disease. It is not fun, so you definitely have my sympathies. Hopefully you're feeling better.

 

[Yashim]

Oh Oh OH.

Very different outfit than her usual photo getup:

1. No cap.
2. Hair worn loose
3. Is that even the leather jacket
.......

This might partially explain the change in her outfit.

When SS first arrived in Istanbul (January 9-10), the temperature was quite low 1-3 °C (33-38 °F).

Towards the end of her trip, it reached 13 °C (56°F).

And it was even warmer on January 21: 17 °C (63 °F)

Perhaps, Eminönü felt warmer than that. Sarayburnu a little colder due being more open to winds.

 

[Herat]

We know the phone was activated twice a week or so after her disappearance. Why? Did someone turn it on to delete certain evidence?

Do we know if it was activated before or after she was found?

Can LE tell for how long it was on? You would have to spend a fair bit of time to delete stuff, rather than just turn the thing on and off.

 

[NewYork625]

I'd assumed she was wearing the hat as it was cold. The pictures from the last day show the sun was out so maybe she didn't need the hat.

It was the fact that her hair was tucked up under her hat. In a subway photo of her that I posted a link for yesterday, she had the cap on, but her hair was exposed.

 

[Yashim]

Yashim seemed to think he lived on the same side of the bridge as the apartment in Beloglu

Yashim doesn't think. Yashim knows.

 

[ThinkHard]

So he had already volunteered an alibi as to why he might observed in the general area, without getting too specific about Kennedy area?

Yes I guess so. I think its weird that he messaged her at 1245 pm. Saying "I'll meet you there" and she is then seen on a camera in eminonu at 130pm.

When we have been told previously she disappeared from camera view near cankurtan, shortly after being seen on a camera in serkeci at 1:15pm.

But this new video puts her in eminonu, which is before serkeci (btw serkeci and the bridge) even after that.

Something tells me there is a WHOLE lot about this case we don't know.

 

[CMac2]

I don't think T recommended visiting the bridge. If he lives that side of the water it is just an obvious meeting point. If, as claimed, he never received her messages, T could be considered a gentleman for going to the bridge and trying to meet up with her rather than leave her wandering the city alone.

There's a MSM media link out there somewhere- I'll try to find it, but it's been a while, so no guarantees.

Anyway, T actually stated that she asked him where she should go that day, as it was her last full day in the country. He says he recommended the bridge.

If memory serves, this account came out in the press before we realized she'd already been to the bridge previously. We speculated that maybe she wanted to go back there, as perhaps she didn't get the photos she'd wanted to the first time around... but then that didn't make any sense either. If she already knew she wanted to go back there, why would she have asked him for ideas of where to go? She'd have just gone to the place she knew she wanted to visit one more time before her flight left.

 

[bet2173]

Some of us have mentioned the Munevver Karabulut murder case which happened in 2009. It was one of the most popular murder cases here. Given the fact that it was 3 years ago, I googled it again to remember how LE proceeded with the case and how much info they shared with the press and the public.

The paragraph pasted below is from Turkish wikipedia which gives a good summary about the investigation process. I will translate the highlights, I suck in the homicide terms in English, so if Yashim or Lavy would correct me, I would be grateful.

Firstly, the case was unresolved for over 6 months. The prime suspect was Cem Garipoglu, her bf at the time. After the murder, the press announced that Cem had escaped the country and was being searched by Interpol. But after a period of time Besir Atalay (who was the minister of internal affairs at the time) declared that is not correct.

Like Sarai's case, a seperate unit was formed to carry out the investigations. There was a huge scandal when it was found out the Forensic's initial autopsy report was false. The initial finding of sperm traces led to suspicion that Karabulut had been the victim of a rape and murder, but it was later found that the sperm had been transferred to her body when it was transported on an unsterilized gurney at the Forensic Medicine Institution. The doctors who contaminated the evidence were sentenced with malpractice in the end

Meanwhile, in September (the murder was in march) some newspapers gave the news that Cem has been found in Armenia and has been arrested. But Internal Affairs once again said it was not true.

The police searched 16 cities and after 197 days on the run Cem surrendered.

Soruşturma süreci
[4][5] İstanbul Emniyet Müdürlüğü'nde katil zanlısının yakalanması için özel bir ekip kuruldu.[6] Türkiye dışında da İnterpol tarafından kırmızı bülten'le arandı.[7] Dönemin içişleri bakanı Beşir Atalay katil zanlısının yakalanması için İstanbul Polisi'ne talimat verdi.[8] "Kızlarına sahip çıksalarmış"[9] açıklamasını yaptığı için kamuoyunda tepki gören İstanbul Emniyet Müdürü Celalettin Cerrah'ın ardından göreve gelen yeni emniyet müdürü Hüseyin Çapkın da katil zanlısının en yakın zamanda bulunacağına dair açıklamalar yaptı.[10] ı.[12Eylül 2009 günü Türkiye'deki bazı gazetelerin ilk sayfasında "Garipoğlu Ermenistan'da yakalandı iddiası" haberi yer aldı ancak bu haberin asılsız olduğu ortaya çıktı.[14] Soruşturma sürecini "TBMM İnsan Haklarını İnceleme Komisyonu" da izledi. Komisyona sunulan rapora göre zanlının yakalanması için polis tarafından 16 ilde 106 adrese operasyon düzenlendi.[15] 17 Eylül 2009 tarihinde, cinayet gününden 197 gün sonra katil zanlısı Cem Garipoğlu İstanbul'da teslim oldu.[16]

 

[CMac2]

Do we know if it was activated before or after she was found?

Can LE tell for how long it was on? You would have to spend a fair bit of time to delete stuff, rather than just turn the thing on and off.

It was activated twice before she was found. Once on the 29th. I assume LE knows how long it was on, because they stated publicly that when it was activated on January 29th (SS wasn't found until Feb 2) a Skype call was made.

This was huge at the time, because when the phone was turned on, this was still a missing persons case. LE announced it because at they time they had no reason to believe she was dead. They originally thought the it was SS who'd turned her phone on and made the Skype call, which of course, gives the family hope that she was alive. Turns out she'd been dead a week by then, so someone else clearly made the Skype call.

What LE has never told the public is: WHO was that call made to?