Dismembered body parts found inside bag in central Istanbul

ISTANBUL

The corpse was found in the morning hours of June 5 by the municipality’s sanitation workers, who then alerted the police. DHA Photo

A dismembered body has been found in a sports bag that was left in the middle of a street in the Tarlabaşı area of Istanbul’s central Beyoğlu district on June 5.

The body is believed to belong to a woman and was sent to forensics for identification. Police said some parts of the body were missing.

The corpse was found in the morning hours of June 5 by the municipality’s sanitation workers, who alerted the police. The area was then cordoned off during the inspection of the crime scene.

In 2009, the murder of a teenager, Münevver Karabulut, dismembered by her boyfriend, had shocked the country.

Karabulut’s remains were found in a garbage can in central Istanbul’s Etiler neighborhood, triggering a manhunt of almost 200 days after her lover, Cem Garipoğlu, who was eventually captured by the police. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison during the subsequent trial.

The Tarlabaşı area of Beyoğlu, downhill from the iconic Taksim Square on the northern side, has recently been subject to a controversial project of urban transformation.

The municipality project to redevelop the zone, which has long been a popular area where large Roma families have historically resided, is criticized for being an attempt to reshape the population and expelling locals.