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

[KivaSupporter]

The same day she was buried, Turkish investigators announced they had detained the siblings of a man wanted for questioning over her death.

Turkey's state-run agency said police briefly took the two brothers and a sister of the possible suspect into custody in the northern city of Karabuk. They were released after being questioned about their brother's whereabouts. The Anadolu agency says their DNA samples were taken.


Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/ne...-siblings-suspect-in-her-death/#ixzz2L0aI07WC

 

[Wolf Dreamer]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ath-Turkey-photo-murder-suspect-revealed.html

An insider close to the case told the Mail a police manager told him Turkish officials have only made public five per cent of what they know about the murder case.

 

[Herat]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ath-Turkey-photo-murder-suspect-revealed.html

Well if they are working as hard on the 95% as we are on the 5% this should be finished by about noon.

 

[Yashim]

It's getting late, Yaz.

Time for beddie-bye.

OK, I am going and not coming back.

 

[Herat]

OK, I am going and not coming back.

Now don't go away mad.

I just don't want you to end up with night terrors from overwork.

Gotta keep our A-team in top-notch shape.

 

[KrysJP]

That's probably another mis-translation or a blind. Just can't buy it.

Not in a New York minute is a girl like Sarai going to wear the exact same shirt two days in a row. LOL
KrsP, poster from SI New York where are you? We need you in this fashion debate, girl!

IM HERE lol Im trying to catch up on everything I just came in from being out all day. What are you asking?

 

[Fantazteko]

Such troubling and confusing developments in this tragic story.

Difficult to believe it will ever be solved.

Anyway, rest in peace, Sarai Sierra. May God bless your family.

 

[KrysJP]

Ok I know we spoke about how off media can be, but this article is really inaccurate saying:

This is the last photo taken of her at 130 perhaps moments before she was bludgeoned to death.

First of all this photo is taken in eminonu, not in cankurtan where she was found, there is about a mile btw eminonu and where her body was found. So the idea that this was moments before she was bludgeoned is for dramatic writing effect NOT accuracy.

Secondly we were lead to believe she was last spotted on video at 1:15 in serkeci headed for Sarayburnu, and then again in cankurtan crossing the road and disappearing from view.

Serkeci is AFTER eminonu (from the golden horn side of the bridge going towards the spot she was found it would go eminonu , serkeci, Sarayburnu, cankurtan ) so how exactly does her being spotted at 130 in eminonu match with how the police reportedly knew where to look for her body (ie going off camera by cankurtan shortly after being spotted on a serkeci cam at 1:15).

It clearly can't be both. Something isn't matching up. In this image it looks like those steps are to a hotel or something in the eminonu area. This would be nowhere near where she was found. (At least a mile difference but on foot, that hardly the same spot or something I would consider "close" at least when talking about the different of crowded touristy eminonu in contrast to the removed, isolated, non touristy area of cankurtan where her body was discovered)

So does this mean, the LE claim they located her body based on where she was last spotted on camera is completely false? I wonder.

Maybe she was circling the serkeci eminonu area looking for Taylan, or someone else, accounting for her being seen in serkeci at 1:15 and then eminonu at 130?

Weird I'm so confused. We have been led to believe she was last spotted on camera near where her body was found. But if this image the one from 130pm is TRULY the last image of her....then she really could have disappeared from anywhere....into a house, into a car.....maybe she didn't even make it to the walls.

It's really hard to try to think of what could have happened, when the information on the timing and location of her disapearance contradicts itself.

If she didn't disapear from within feet of where she was found....it opens up a lot more possibilities.....and makes the random attack because she ventured to the walls alone (which I don't buy anyway) far far less likely.

Im wondering is they now for sure if this is Sarai. Im staring at this for quite a while now and I just can't tell. This is not her style at all. And if you look closely at the length of her hair in this picture, it seems shorter than her hair in other pictures we have seen. For some reason, I do not think this is her!

 

[KrysJP]

WAIT! I got an idea!
She had 2 pairs of shoes with her.

If she tucked her jeans into her boots, that would explain the "skinny" jeans look. If she later put on sneakers (which to me it looks like she could be wearing in the sidewalk pic) the jeans would look more flared.

great idea. BUT, you can not tuck wide leg jeans(bootcut) into boots without it looking bunched up. Skinny jeans are meant for you to be able to wear boots on top of them.

 

[KrysJP]

The image doesnt look like Sarai and whats with the surroundings? Seems like someone needs to stop releasing bogus info for giggles and solve the case, or admit theyve got bubkus. Jmho

I agree, I do not think it looks like her either. #1 not her style #2 the hair in this picture looks shorter than SS hair

 

[SANDOVAL]

Im wondering is they now for sure if this is Sarai. Im staring at this for quite a while now and I just can't tell. This is not her style at all. And if you look closely at the length of her hair in this picture, it seems shorter than her hair in other pictures we have seen. For some reason, I do not think this is her!

And how it just looks like a girl dressed in nice outfit (to her anyway) possibly about to meet someone for tea in some hotel.......but, poor SS, if it's not her, how one wishes it could have been instead of what happened!!

 

[SANDOVAL]

I agree, I do not think it looks like her either. #1 not her style #2 the hair in this picture looks shorter than SS hair

BUT I was surprised myself at the airport security footage where SS looks more 1960's ''all American girl'' than 'savvy turkish traveller''.
Whoever said her family and friends could confirm if this was her 'relaxed' style has a point IMHO.

 

[ToutCa]

I think the new pics are Sarai. They're up on Hurriyet, the (dare I say) "gold standard" of Turkish media reliability.

Turkish LE has said they have 20 or more images/video of her on Jan. 21 walking from her neighborhood to the Cankurtaran area on Kennedy Cad. by the city walls where her body was found. They've surely had it all mapped out for days, step by step of her journey. This is ancient news to them.

They have video of her leaving the street her AirBnb residence was on (see the NY Daily News article for details - LINK). They no doubt have ID'd her hairstyle and clothing from the first video, and it was easier to track her after that. (Earlier vids where she wore different clothes were from Jan. 20).

**Remember, by all accounts, she was dressed to meet someone -- Taylan. We still don't know if they really didn't meet, and if they didn't, if she made/had some other plan to meet someone else.

**The photo labeled "Eminonu" doesn't mean she was in Eminonu at 13:29. It could mean simply "Eminonu-side" -- perhaps this particular CCTV camera or LE itself labelled some of the photos/videos as Eminonu or Beyoglu -side, for example. Note that Hurriyet (LINK) and the Turkish media all say these are the last images taken of SS in the Cankurtaran area right by where she disappeared. If correct, the time and place would be consistent with prior info we've gotten.

**What's this new bag? At the very least, it looks pretty small to be carrying large amounts of cash or dope or objects to exchange in some illicit meet.

**From what I've seen of her NYC Photo Walks, she always dressed fashionably. It seems still possible to me she walked over to the area of the walls to get some photos. It's not so rugged it can't be approached in jeans.

 

[ThinkHard]

I just want to say that I can understand an American point of view of wanting to be respectful and dress conservatively when in a country with a large Muslim population. I have seen the live street cams which show a very wide spectrum of dress among people in Istanbul. However, I believe that some Americans might be sensitive (meritted or not) to possibly offending Muslims, and might feel compelled to dress more conservatively. The US may have a reputation as being aggressive at times, but we are a blended nation, and many private citizens are sensitive to wrongs our country has committed in the past, and do try to be respectful of all religions and t
I hope I expressed myself well enough. I don't feel I write as eloquently as some.

That is very well said, and you do write eloquently, don't be so hard in yourself.

I had written on a thread way way back in this case, about one of the things I had come learn about Turkish culture is that they put considerably less emphasis on judging people's character on manner of dress as we tend to do here in the US.

And I agree that Americans out of respect may be inclined to dress more conservatively on account of the predominant religion ( it is that very reason I always cover my head when viewing inside a mosque, even though you are not required too,I feel like it is a sacred place to many and I should respect that ), but I think as Americans we sometimes overthink it and at least in regards to Turkey it's not necessary, as they just see tend not to be as judgmental in that regard. It's kind of refreshing actually. This is at least from my experience.

This wasn't to disagree with you, because I don't. I guess I was just looking at the same question from a different angle. But I wanted to share it with you because I like the sentiment.

 

[ThinkHard]

I think the new pics are Sarai. They're up on Hurriyet, the (dare I say) "gold standard" of Turkish media reliability.

Turkish LE has said they have 20 or more images/video of her on Jan. 21 walking from her neighborhood to the Cankurtaran area on Kennedy Cad. by the city walls where her body was found. They've no doubt had it all mapped out for days, step by step of her journey. This is ancient news to them.

They have video of her leaving the street her AirBnb residence was on (see the NY Daily News article for details - LINK). They no doubt have ID'd her hairstyle and clothing from the first video, and it was easier to track her after that. (Earlier vids where she wore different clothes were from Jan. 20).

**Remember, by all accounts, she was dressed to meet someone -- Taylan. We still don't know if they really didn't meet, and if they didn't, if she made/had some other plan to meet someone else.

**The photo labeled "Eminonu" doesn't mean she was in Eminonu at 13:29. It could mean simply "Eminonu-side" -- perhaps this particular CCTV camera or LE itself labelled some of the photos/videos as Eminonu or Beyoglu -side, for example. Note that Hurriyet (LINK) and the Turkish media all say these are the last images taken of SS in the Cankurtaran area right by where she disappeared. If correct, the time and place would be consistent with prior info we've gotten.

**What's this new bag? At the very least, it looks pretty small to be carrying large amounts of cash or dope or objects to exchange in some illicit meet.

**From what I've seen of her NYC Photo Walks, she always dressed fashionably. It seems still possible to me she walked over to the area of the walls to get some photos. It's not so rugged it can't be approached in jeans.

They thing is if those are the last images of her, then judging by what is around her she is not near where she was found. There is a building next to here. I'm fairly certain the street where you can see her walking by a stone step is a street behind Yeni Cami in eminonu. So either the timing is off or there are videos after this one. But this shot can't be the last one as they claim, because it is not where the claimed she wen off video.

 

[ToutCa]

They thing is if those are the last images of her, then judging by what is around her she is not near where she was found. There is a building next to here. I'm fairly certain the street where you can see her walking by a stone step is a street behind Yeni Cami in eminonu. So either the timing is off or there are videos after this one. But this shot can't be the last one as they claim, because it is not where the claimed she wen off video.

That's very true.

But since they have so many from that day, the photo with the "step" could be from earlier. Saying they are the last two is probably the press sensationalizing.

The "13:29" one could well be Cankurtaran, and the "last" one. But they keep pushing back the time of the "last" sighting, so it pays to be prudent!

Overall, these photos don't really alter our previous timeline -- yet. But they may be holding back images after "13:29". Wish we could look at them all.

 

[Herat]

That's very true.

But since they have so many from that day, the photo with the "step" could be from earlier. Saying they are the last two is probably the press sensationalizing.

The "13:29" one could well be Cankurtaran, and the "last" one. But they keep pushing back the time of the "last" sighting, so it pays to be prudent!

Overall, these photos don't really alter our previous timeline -- yet. But they may be holding back images after "13:29". Wish we could look at them all.

We're probably reading "last photos" as far more litteral than they are in reality. I can see these being released as LE to the media as the BEST QUALITY photos taken from within a reasonable amount of time in the last series, say the best closeup shot they could find and least distorted long shot showing her head-to-toe outfit without the distortion of foreshortening.

After all, the supersleuths here are microdissecting every bit of information.

 

[SANDOVAL]

They thing is if those are the last images of her, then judging by what is around her she is not near where she was found. There is a building next to here. I'm fairly certain the street where you can see her walking by a stone step is a street behind Yeni Cami in eminonu. So either the timing is off or there are videos after this one. But this shot can't be the last one as they claim, because it is not where the claimed she wen off video.

EXACTLY ...if they have any video that is believably SS

 

[ToutCa]

Thought experiment: If I'm the perp, and I've just killed someone, what's the smartest thing I can do? Take the jacket off the body, use the jacket to push the body into a nearby fetid blanket crawling with the DNA of one or more homeless who have used it, and use the blanket to move and cache the body. Protecting my bare hands with the jacket, rub the blanket all over the body to transfer blanket trace DNA all over the body. Rub the blanket under the fingernails as well.

I hope they have solid DNA evidence in this case, because as you great Websleuths well know, DNA is not the smoking gun proof of popular imagination. Bet2173 cited the Munevver Karabulut murder case (post #1059) where improper handling of a body allowed trace DNA to mislead LE for some time. Another famous example is the German serial killer, the famous Phantom of Heilbronn, who turned out not to exist -- investigators on multiple murders were turning up traces of the DNA of factory workers who made the cotton swabs they used to collect DNA!

Just because some DNA is on the scene of the killing means little.

We really need to know where the DNA was found, what type of fluids/transfers, etc.

[This has been the Cmac2 "reasonable-doubt-without-full-on-tinfoil-hat-conspiracy" special... ]

 

[Herat]

Thought experiment: If I'm the perp, and I've just killed someone, what's the smartest thing I can do? Take the jacket off the body, use the jacket to push the body into a nearby fetid blanket crawling with the DNA of one or more homeless who have used it, and use the blanket to move and cache the body. Protecting my bare hands with the jacket, rub the blanket all over the body to transfer blanket trace DNA all over the body. Rub the blanket under the fingernails as well.

I hope they have solid DNA evidence in this case, because as you great Websleuths well know, DNA is not the smoking gun proof of popular imagination. Bet2173 cited the Munevver Karabulut murder case (post #1059) where improper handling of a body allowed trace DNA to mislead LE for some time. Another famous example is the German serial killer, the famous Phantom of Heilbronn, who turned out not to exist -- investigators on multiple murders were turning up traces of the DNA of factory workers who made the cotton swabs they used to collect DNA!

Just because some DNA is on the scene of the killing means little.

We really need to know where the DNA was found, what type of fluids/transfers, etc.

[This has been the Cmac2 "reasonable-doubt-without-full-on-tinfoil-hat-conspiracy" special... ]

I think you would make a fiendishly clever killer.