Family of teen murderer to pay record compensation

ISTANBUL

Münevver Karabulut was murdered at the age of 17 in 2009. Hürriyet Photo

The family of the young man who killed his teenage girlfriend in 2009 has been compelled to pay a record amount of more than 1 million Turkish Liras of compensation to the victim’s family.

An Istanbul court ruled that the family of Cem Garipoğlu must pay 37,000 Turkish Liras for non-pecuniary and 1.25 million liras for pecuniary damages to the family of Münevver Karabulut, who was murdered at the age of 17 in 2009.

Garipoğlu had killed his girlfriend for allegedly cheating on him via text messages. Karabulut’s remains were found in a garbage can in central Istanbul’s Etiler neighborhood.

Garipoğlu successfully hid from police for 197 days after the murder, during which time Karabulut’s family launched a media campaign to find Garipoğlu and bring him to justice.

Some accused Garipoğlu’s family, who are extremely wealthy, of using their connections to hide their son.

As part of the case in which Garipoğlu was sentenced to 24 years in jail over charges of murdering and dismembering Karabulut, his uncle Hayyam Garipoğlu and three employees of his company were sentenced to three years in prison for harboring an outlaw, while his mother Makbule Garipoğlu was sentenced to same amount of imprisonment over destruction of evidence.