Indictment nears in Narin murder case: Minister

KARABÜK

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has said the indictment in the murder investigation of 8-year-old Narin Güran is nearly complete, with charges expected to be submitted to the court this week.

"The investigation and work regarding our child Narin has reached its final stage," Tunç told reporters in the northern city of Karabük on Oct. 20.

The case has gripped Türkiye following the discovery of Narin’s body in a stream near the eastern city of Diyarbakır’s Tavşantepe village on Sept. 8, days after a search was launched. Authorities confirmed she had been strangled to death on Aug. 21, the day she was reported missing.

"A comprehensive evidence collection effort was conducted from phone logs to parallel signal data and from Forensic Medicine reports to camera footage," Tunç said. "Those who killed Narin will be held accountable before the courts."

Investigators have determined that Narin was killed at her home in Diyarbakır in the presence of several family members, though no killer has been officially identified two months after her death.

Narin’s mother, Yüksel Güran, her brother, Enes Güran, her uncle, Salim Güran, and his wife, Hediye Güran, were all reportedly in the home at the time of the killing.

The investigation took a pivotal turn when Nevzat Bahtiyar, one of those in custody, confessed to dumping Narin’s body in the stream. Bahtiyar, along with Narin’s mother and brother, remains under arrest.

Salim Güran has emerged as the prime suspect after investigators revealed that he and Bahtiyar were together at the time of the killing, between 3:18 p.m. and 3:21 p.m., and remained together until 3:46 p.m.

The authorities have scrutinized phone logs and signal data in an effort to uncover additional leads, which have been sent to the prosecutor’s office for further examination.

The detained family members face charges of "participating in the crime of intentional homicide" and "destroying evidence and aiding the guilty."

They are also accused of making over 50 false reports during the search for Narin, staging power outages and setting fires to obstruct investigators.

The investigators have also sent fingerprints and DNA samples from cigarette butts found near a house and barn where Narin may have been killed to a criminal laboratory in the nearby city of Van for further analysis.