DNA confirms Garipoğlu's identity amid death suspicion

ISTANBUL

Bone samples from the grave of femicide convict Cem Garipoğlu have been confirmed as belonging to him amid years of speculation about his death.

Garipoğlu brutally murdered 17-year-old Münevver Karabulut in 2009.

The case, which horrified the nation, saw him sentenced to life imprisonment after Karabulut's decapitated body was discovered in a wastebin by street cleaners in Istanbul.

Garipoğlu purportedly took his own life in 2014 while serving his sentence.

However, for years, rumors persisted that he may have faked his death with the aid of influential connections and fled abroad. The suspicions prompted the exhumation of his grave following a request by Süreyya Karabulut, the father of the victim.

A public prosecutor's office in Istanbul announced that DNA extracted from bones in the grave matched that of Garipoğlu's parents.

"DNA examinations on bones, teeth and other samples were meticulously carried out," said a statement from the office. The findings confirmed that the remains were those of Garipoğlu, identified as the child of his parents, Mehmet Nida and Tülay Makbule.

Meanwhile, a plastic bag was found in Garipoğlu's grave, though it had not been previously recorded, Rezan Epözdemir, the Karabulut family's lawyer, told private broadcaster NTV on Oct. 8.

Epözdemir also said the family could challenge the report.