Life sentences sought for family members in Narin murder case

DIYARBAKIR

A prosecutor has sought aggravated life sentences for four suspects, including the mother, brother and uncle of 8-year-old Narin Güran, on charges of " intentional murder of a child through joint participation,” while the motive for the murder remains unclear.

The case has been making headlines across Türkiye ever since Güran, who had been missing for weeks, was found dead in a streambed in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır in early September.

Following the completion of the investigation, the prosecutor’s office submitted a 12-page indictment to the court. The next step is for the court to accept the indictment and initiate the trial.

Thus far, the three family members in custody have persistently denied their involvement in the murder. However, neighbor Nevzat Bahtiyar, who confessed, revealed that the uncle had asked for his help in concealing the body, which he then dumped in a stream.

According to cell tower records and communication logs, all four suspects were at the girl’s house at the presumed time of the murder, reinforcing the possibility that they acted together, the indictment said.

The prosecution's strongest and principal evidence for the accusation of collective participation is derived from these records.

However, the investigation has yet to shed light on the motive behind the girl's murder. The prosecutor expressed the opinion that "sufficient suspicion exists to infer that the defendants collectively exerted control over the act of murder, having strangled Narin Güran to death with an indeterminate motive and intent."

The indictment underscored that the uncle, wielding his authority as the village headman, deliberately evaded responding to law enforcement during the search efforts.

The mother, brother, uncle and Bahtiyar reportedly deleted all messages and call logs from their mobile phones after the crime, further compounding the suspicion of their complicity.

Telecommunications records additionally indicated that the uncle visited the stream shortly after the body had been dumped there, corroborating that he had knowledge of the site and had returned to the area on the day of the crime to verify its concealment.

Moreover, the indictment showed that the family members held "frequent meetings" during the search operation. During one such gathering, a heated altercation erupted, with one family member reportedly exclaiming, "Everyone knows everything!"

Türkiye’s scientific board’s analysis of certain footage from village cameras was unable to clarify the audio, and only fragments of the erased video could be recovered. The police and prosecutor’s office concluded that this recovered footage did not contribute significantly to the investigation.

The prosecutor also noted the discrepancies between the suspects’ statements, both with each other and with their previous testimonies.