An 18-year-old woman was found dead in a garbage bag inside an empty apartment in southeastern Turkey, in what authorities are investigating as the latest case of femicide in the country.
The victim, identified as Sümeyye Durgun, was discovered on the 8th floor of a residential building in the Fabrika neighborhood of Yenişehir district, Diyarbakır province. According to Turkish news outlet T24, the building's 27-year-old janitor, identified only by his initials S.K., has been detained as the primary suspect in connection with the killing.
The grim discovery was made on Wednesday evening when the property owner conducted a routine check of the vacant apartment and found the woman's body concealed in a garbage bag. Emergency services and police were immediately dispatched to the scene following the report.
Investigators determined that the victim was Sümeyye Durgun, who had been reported missing by her husband just one day earlier. Her body has been transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute for autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Authorities allege that the suspect, S.K., had been involved in a romantic relationship with Durgun. According to preliminary investigations, an argument between the two escalated, during which S.K. allegedly struck the young woman on the head with a blunt object, killing her.
The suspect remains in police custody as the investigation continues.
Turkey has faced persistent criticism over its high rates of femicide, with women's rights organizations documenting hundreds of cases annually. The country's 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty designed to combat violence against women, drew widespread condemnation from human rights groups both domestically and internationally.
Photo: T24