Father of child bride victim voices doubts on her circumstances of death

SİİRT - Doğan News Agency

The child bride's father M.E. (R) receives relatives at his house in Çayak ditrict, Van province, who come to offer their condolences after the tragic death of his daughter. AA photo

The tragic death of a child bride may be a murder, the father of the 14-year-old girl identified as K.E. suggested after the autopsy was performed, while the family minister has instructed her institution to apply to become a party in the legal proceedings.

The father said the family was expecting further forensic tests that would look if his daughter had gunshot residue in her hand to enlighten the circumstances of her death. 

“The documents given after an autopsy in Diyarbakır indicate that she was shot by a hunting rifle and not by a gun. I want light to be shed on her death,” the father said, noting a hunting rifle was an unlikely weapon for a suicide.

K.E. was found dead in her home in the southeastern province of Siirt Jan. 11, a few days after her newborn second child died. 

“If my daughter has sacrificed her life, there is nothing that I can say to anybody. But if someone has shot her I won’t stop following this until I find who is responsible,” the father said. He also explained the girl was 16 and not 14, as her identity indicated and the family married her at the age of 13. The bone age test also confirmed the girl was in fact 16-years-old. 

“I gave the [hand of] my daughter through bride exchange. But my daughter liked the boy. And we received a bride from there,” the father said. The family of the child bride is from Çatak, in the Van province. K.E. had moved further west to Pervari in Siirt, a district that borders with Çatak, after her marriage.  

The husband, who was performing his military service at the time when the incident took place, said he believed his young wife died as a result of an “accident.”

“I had entrusted her my hunting rifle when I went to perform military service. She would occasionally clean it. I think what happened is an accident. This is what the investigation will prove,” he said, assuring that he loved his wife. 

Ministry intervenes

The harrowing story that made headlines all across, the story also induced the Family and Social Policies Ministry on intervening in the case and launching its own investigation. The ministry applied to become a party in the legal proceedings upon the instruction of the minister Ayşenur İslam. 

It has also been reported that K.E.’s first child, who is now 18 months old, has yet to be registered. The child may also be taken under state-protection during the investigation process, according to reports.