Turkish writer arrested for killing two in car accident

İZMİR

Turkish writer Emrah Serbes turned himself in and was arrested on Sept. 28 for killing a 59 year-old man and his 16 year-old daughter and injuring his 51 year-old wife in a car accident. He is best known for the “Behzat Ç.” books that have been adapted to a popular television series.

Serbes admitted to the crime and turned himself in at the İzmir Torbalı Prosecutor’s Office.

Following a hearing at the judicial court, Serbes was committed for trial and was arrested right after.
Since the incident on Sept. 22 on the İzmir-Aydın highway in Turkey’s west coast, Serbes’ friend Kenan Doğru, who was also in the car, claimed responsibility for the accident.

“I was in shock at the moment and could not take responsibility for the accident at the time. My friend Kenan Doğru who was also in the car took the blame for the crime. He is currently in prison although he is innocent,” Serbes confessed in a letter he posted on his Twitter account.

Doğru was arrested on Sept. 22, and is still in jail although his lawyer Devrim Alparslan said they hope Doğru will be released following Serbes’ confession.

In the letter, Serbes said the ambulance came to the scene later than expected and that he did everything he could to avoid crashing into the family in the car.

The widely popular television series Behzat Ç. Bir Ankara Polisiyesi (Behzat Ç. An Ankara Detective Story), based on the novels Her Temas İz Bırakır (Every Contact Leaves a Trace) and Son Hafriyat (Last Excavation) by Serbes, became a sensation in Turkey from 2010 to 2013, putting Serbes on the country’s literature map.

The main character “Behzat Ç.” is a rough, violent and morally ambiguous police officer who is the head of the homicide department in Ankara. The series and movies tell the stories of him and the members of his department.

There are also two movies featuring the same characters, Behzat Ç. Seni Kalbime Gömdüm (I Buried You in My Heart) and Behzat Ç. Ankara Yanıyor (Ankara is Burning).