University student strangled and stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend

ISTANBUL

A 19-year-old university student Güleda Cankel from Isparta University of Applied Sciences (ISUBU) was strangled and stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend Zafer Pehlivan, in the southern province of Isparta on Nov. 18.

Zafer Pehlivan went to the police station and surrendered himself three hours after the murder, according to his testimony given to law enforcement officers.

Pehlivan said that he went to Isparta from Muğla on Nov. 15 in order to meet with Cankel. When there was no one at home, Pehlivan returned to the bus station and waited for two days. On Nov. 17, he again went to the apartment where Cankel stayed and saw the light of the apartment on and rang the bell, according to the testimony.

In his testimony, Pehlivan said that he had come to Muğla to talk with Cankel, where he had argued with her and that the discussion had turned into a fight.

Medics and police forces came to the scene after calls from people in the neighborhood; however, Pehlivan claimed that Cankel did not report the incident to authorities.

"They took her to the hospital by ambulance. Güleda did not complain about me; someone around the scene left me at the bus station. But then I went to the apartment, I asked her how she was feeling. When Güleda told me that she had a headache and she was feeling sick, I took her back to the hospital. We went back home around 5 a.m., and we fell asleep. We got up around 10 a.m. When we were having breakfast, Güleda told me, 'What kind of man are you? You attacked me, you beat me,'" Pehlivan said in his testimony.

"I strangled her. I put her to bed. She was turning blue. Her voice went away, then I saw the cable there. I wrapped around her throat and continued to squeeze, then checked her heart. When I noticed that she was alive, I went to the kitchen, took a knife, stabbed her in the heart. Half an hour later, I left home and called my mother, told her I killed her (Güleda Cankel). Then I went to the police station and waited half an hour in front of the station. In the meantime, I also called other relatives, especially my father. They told me to surrender," he said.

After his testimony was taken by the police officers, Pehlivan was arrested and sent to Isparta Prison by the court.

Cankel's family, local authorities in Muğla, representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations, Cankel's relatives and citizens attended the funeral.

According to figures provided by Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu (We Will Stop Femicide Platform), which keeps a tally of femicides across the country, some 376 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2019.