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Cem Garipoğlu (29 October 1991 - 10 October 2014) was a Turkish man who murdered and beheaded his girlfriend Münevver Karabulut.
The murder has been frequently on the agenda since the day it was committed and has had an impact on society. In particular, the way the murder was committed, Münevver Karabulut's autopsy report, and Cem Garipoğlu, about whom various conspiracy theories have been produced since the day he died, have frequently found space in the media and on the internet.
Early life edit
He the nephew of the famous businessman Hayyam Garipoğlu and one of the four children of Mehmet Nida Garipoğlu, one of the partners of Sümerbank, which was seized by SDIF. It was claimed that the financial power of his family paved the way for Cem Garipoğlu's escape after the incident.
Garipoğlu, who went abroad at the age of 12, continued his education at a boarding school in France. Until the age of 17, he traveled to different countries to learn English, Russian, Chinese and Spanish. Then, he returned to Turkey permanently.
Murder of Münevver Karabulut edit
On the evening of 3 March 2009, Münevver Karabulut's dead body was found torn by a garbage collector in a garbage container. As a result of forensic examination, it was determined that the head was injured by knife strokes, which resulted in her death, and then the head was cut off from the body.
Ritual allegations edit
According to expert opinions, the two V-shaped cuts found under Münevver Karabulut's neck, the analysis of the other cuts, and the presence of soil on her back, it was suggested that she was tortured to death in a sadistic ritual. One of the lawyers of the case , Rezan Epözdemir , said in the program she made with Fatih Altaylı that the murder bore the signs of the Unleavened Rite, which she claimed was a Jewish ritual, and that this was also recorded in the court records. Allegedly, in this ritual, a male family member who has reached the age of 18 kills a young virgin girl to prove his maturity.
After committing the murder, Cem Garipoğlu threw the body into a garbage container near the site where his grandfather and grandmother lived in Etiler . According to lawyer Rezan Epözdemir, Cem Garipoğlu's leaving the body in front of his grandmother's house was one of the signs of the ritual in terms of proving his maturity.
Investigation process edit
The main suspect, Cem Garipoğlu, was a fugitive for about six months and the inability of the authorities in arresting him gave rise to criticism from members of the public. Protests took place in many places in Istanbul to ask the authorities to arrest the suspect as soon as possible. A special team was established by the Istanbul Police Department to arrest the suspect. Outside Turkey, Interpol issued a red notice to seek the arrest of Garipoğlu. The minister of the interior at the time, Beşir Atalay, ordered the Istanbul Police to arrest the suspect. After Celalettin Cerrah's controversial remarks that the incident wouldn't have happened "If [the parents] took care of their daughter", he was replaced as the Istanbul Police Chief by Hüseyin Çapkın who promised that the suspect was to be found very soon. As the investigation into the murder continued, the autopsy report prepared by the Forensic Medicine Institute turned out to be inaccurate. During the autopsy, it was found out that DNA samples of other bodies were mixed with that of the victim and a second autopsy report was prepared. Meanwhile, rumors that the suspect had escaped Turkey were denied by the minister of the interior Beşir Atalay. On 12 September 2009, many newspapers reported on the allegations about Garipoğlu's possible arrest in Armenia, though these claims turned out to be unfounded. The investigation process was also followed by the "TBMM Human Rights Investigation Commission". According to the report submitted to the commission, police raided 106 addresses in 16 provinces to arrest the suspect. On 17 September 2009, 197 days after the murder, Cem Garipoğlu was arrested in Istanbul.
Conviction edit
As a result of the case, Cem Garipoğlu was sentenced to 24 years in prison for "killing a child, with premeditation, with a monstrous feeling and by torturing him." According to Turkish law, a person who commits the crime in question receives an aggravated life sentence, but Garipoğlu received the maximum sentence he could receive because he was a child at the time of the crime. His mother and uncle were also sentenced to three years in prison. His father was acquitted.
Suicide and aftermath edit
Garipoğlu, who was transferred from Metris No. 1 T Type Closed Prison to Silivri No. 5 Prison after his sentence was finalized, committed suicide on October 10, 2014, in his three-person cell, using a rope and a plastic bag. Garipoğlu was buried in Karacaahmet Cemetery.
On December 17, 2022, a decision of non-prosecution was given for the application made by Münevver Karabulut's father Süreyya Karabulut to the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, claiming that Cem Garipoğlu did not commit suicide in prison, but escaped or was abducted.
On October 3, 2024, Cem Garipoğlu's grave was opened upon the request of the Karabulut family. His remains were exhumed and sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute for DNA analysis to determine his identity. After examination, it was announced that the remains belonged to Garipoğlu.