Killers of pregnant Syrian woman, baby also planned to kill husband: Testimony

SAKARYA

Two men who confessed to killing a pregnant Syrian woman and her baby in the northwestern province of Sakarya last week have told officials during their testimonies they also planned to kill the husband before they were caught, daily Milliyet reported on July 8.

Nine month pregnant Emani el-Rahmun, 20, was raped and killed with her 10-month-old son Halaf el-Rahmun in Sakarya’s Kaynarca district on July 6, causing outrage across Turkey. 

Two men, Cemal Bay and Birol Karacal, were detained and arrested after confessing to the murder on July 7. 

The suspects were indicated to be el-Rahmun family’s neighbors and were working in the same factory as Emani el-Rahmun’s husband Halid el-Rahmun. 

After they had an argument with Halid el-Rahmun at work, they left the factory and went to the family’s house, which they forcibly broke into, according to their testimonies. 

They added that after chocking the baby to death, they beat the nine month pregnant Emani el-Rahmun until she passed out. They then put her in a vehicle and drove to a nearby forested area, where they raped her and then beat her to death with a stone. 

The suspects reportedly said they “could not bury the woman’s body as the soil was too hard,” so they blanketed the bodies of Emani el-Rahmun and her baby and then covered them with grass and soil.

Bay and Karacal also had plans to kill the husband, as they believed he would file a complaint against them, according to their testimonies. They delayed their plan until it got dark the following night, but police detained the two men the next day.