Dismembered body found in Istanbul belongs to Syrian woman killed by brother

Çetin Aydın ISTANBUL

The corpse was found in the morning hours of June 5 by the municipality’s sanitation workers, who then alerted the police. AA Photo

A dismembered body, found in a sports bag left in the middle of a street in Istanbul’s Tarlabaşı district, has been identified as belonging to a Syrian woman.

The 24-year-old woman, Musaybe al-Mousa, was reportedly killed by her brother when she refused to return to war-torn Syria.

Police captured the murder suspect, her 17-year-old brother, at a house in the neighborhood where the murder was committed.

“My sister’s husband and children are in Syria. We wanted her to go to her family. She did not accept it, saying war was ongoing. A scuffle erupted. I slit her throat with a knife,” he reportedly told police.

The corpse was found in the morning hours of June 5 by the municipality’s sanitation workers, who alerted the police.

Police then spotted two men carrying the bag in security camera footage and questioned Tarlabaşı locals with a photo of the woman’s face. Following the evidence, police found the woman’s house and raided it at 02.00 a.m. on June 6.

When police showed the photo, the brother initially said he did not know the woman, but police detained him after determining that the murder had been committed at the same house.