Turkish serial killer faces aggravated life term for third murder

ISTANBUL

Istanbul prosecutors on Dec. 20 have demanded heavy life sentences and an additional 10 years of prison term for Atalay Filiz, a Turkish serial killer who became widely known after committing a series of murders. 

Filiz, 30, who pleaded guilty to murdering three people, faces sentences for killing Fatma Kayıkçı, a 40-year-old teacher and mother of two who was found dead in late May.  

He is also charged with planning the deliberate killing of Kayıkçı and of committing theft. 

Filiz said in his testimony that he killed Kayıkçı after she discovered his true identity while he was working at a tea house owned by Kayıkçı’s husband. He introduced himself with a fake identity as he wanted to remain incognito after he committed the murders of two other people in 2013. In his testimony, Filiz also pleaded guilty to killing his friend Göktuğ Demirarslan and Elena Radchikova after Radchikova grew suspicious of the disappearance of Filiz’s former girlfriend, Olga Seregina, in Paris in 2011. 

Filiz was caught on a minibus travelling in the western province of İzmir after an arrest warrant against him was issued on June 12, two weeks after Kaykçı’s body was found. The police had been on high alert for Filiz, who was also sought internationally.