Man who threw acid at three-year-old nephew attacked in Istanbul jail

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

A man who was arrested after carrying out an acid attack on his three-year-old nephew in the playground of an Istanbul restaurant has been attacked in his jail cell by other inmates. 

The 33-year-old marketing executive, identified only by the initials C.A., was arrested on Oct. 23 after confessing that he threw acid over the son of his sister-in-law, reportedly out of “jealousy.”

C.A. was attacked with knives by several other inmates in the Maltepe Prison, where he was under arrest pending trial. Prison guards reportedly saved him before any serious injuries were sustained and he was later transferred to another cell. 

The suspect was married and had a son around the same age as the acid attack victim. The three-year-old victim lost sight in one eye as a result of the attack and is still receiving treatment in his severely damaged other eye.

In his testimony at the homicide bureau, C.A. confessed to the attack and said he did it because he thought the boy received more attention from the family than his own son. He was dressed in a steel vest before leaving for court to testify, in order to prevent any attempted attack.

The police investigation revealed that C.A. had organized a meal for the entire family on Oct. 17, the night of the attack. During the meal the children were left in the restaurant’s playground, where restaurant workers were assigned to look after them. 

C.A., who was carrying the acid in a toothpaste tube, left the table for the playground during the dinner and threw acid on the face of his victim.

After the attack, the man reportedly went to a nearby market to purchase another tube of toothpaste to show to the police in case a witness described how the attack was carried out.  

In her testimony, C.A.’s wife said her husband had not slept for two days after the incident as a result of depression. 

“I thought he couldn’t sleep because he was sad for the boy. But it turned out that he couldn’t sleep because he was the attacker,” she stated. 

Police investigating the attack are working to retrieve video footage from the playground, which was likely deleted by a hacker before the incident. 

After C.A.’s confession, the victim’s family recalled an incident three months prior to the acid attack that may have been an earlier attempt to harm the boy, in which one of his remote-controlled toys exploded.