Prosecutor gives final opinion on murder of girl, seeks life sentences

DİYARBAKIR

The prosecutor's office has revealed its final opinion in the murder case of 8-year-old Narin Güran, reiterating its demand for aggravated life imprisonment for four defendants.

Following weeks of exhaustive search efforts, Güran's body was discovered in early September in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, with her mother, brother and uncle, along with their neighbor who concealed the body, emerging as the primary suspects.

While no confessions regarding the specifics of the crime have been made, the murder has sparked widespread outrage in Türkiye and remains under intense scrutiny, with the case on track to become a landmark case in the country’s memory.

Following the initial hearing and the submission of several critical pieces of new evidence this week, the prosecutor’s office on Dec. 6 presented its final opinion — a practice in the Turkish legal system in which the office submits its statement after the initial indictment-based hearings.

The prosecutor has called for aggravated life sentences for the four on charges of joint commission of murder.

The prosecutor emphasized that Narin went missing on 3:11 p.m., and the family only reported the incident to the authorities at 8:43 p.m.

The office argued that the significant time gap between the disappearance and the report is unexplained, suggesting that the late report was a deliberate attempt to obscure the evidence of the crime after it had been tampered with.

The four defendants are scheduled to appear before the judge on Dec. 26 for the second time.

This week, the investigation into Narin’s murder has witnessed significant developments, with three critical reports now included in the case file.

One of these reports, following an objection by the defense attorneys regarding the defendants' presence at the crime scene at the time of the murder, was prepared based on updated communication records (HTS). This new report corroborated the earlier findings and presented even more damning evidence against the suspects.

Although direct DNA analysis could not be conducted on hair and fiber samples found in Narin’s hand due to their lack of roots, indirect DNA testing revealed that the samples matched those of both the brother and the mother.

The third crucial new piece of evidence comes from surveillance footage, which conclusively shows Narin arriving at the house where the murder is believed to have occurred.