Man kills wife in jail ‘over rape’

SİVAS

The prison in the eastern Turkish province of Sivas. File photo

A convict who killed his wife during a visit to a prison in eastern Turkey has told the prosecutor that he committed the crime after they argued about an issue related to the fact that he had murdered his cousin for raping the woman, Doğan News Agency reported on March 20.

Metin Avcı, 29, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for murder at a prison in the Sivas province, met the visiting woman in the “pink room,” where prisoners are allowed to spend hours in private with their wives. 

After three hours, wardens entered the room to find the dead body of Leyla Aslan alongside her husband, who was trying to cut his own wrists, late on March 19.

As he was being discharged from the hospital, Avcı reportedly told the prosecutor that they had argued about the "rape issue" dating back to 2010. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail for killing his cousin who raped his wife.

According to his testimony, this was the first time that he had met his wife since the murder. When the two got into a heated argument, Avcı initially tried to strangle the woman, but was unable to kill her. He then stabbed her in the throat with a small knife that was brought in a basket of fruit served to the “pink room” as a treat from the prison authorities.

The man is now expected to be convicted for murder for a second time, according to the agency.

Inspired by similar practices abroad, Turkey’s Justice Ministry launched the “pink room” policy for married convicts and their spouses in 2013. Convicts and arrestees can stay in these rooms with their wives for up to 24 hours. Turkey’s first “pink room baby” was born last year.