Turkey. On October 4, 2024, Istanbul was shaken by a horrific incident where 19-year-old Semih Çelik brutally murdered two women within half an hour before taking his own life. The victims of violence against women, Ayşenur Halil and İkbal Uzuner, both 19 years old, were killed in the Eyüpsultan and Fatih districts, respectively.
Fig.1 Çelik dismembered the body of İkbal Uzuner at the historic Edirnekapı city walls in Fatih.
Fig.2 Çelik threw the head of İkbal Uzuner from the walls towards her mother.
Fig.3 The head of İkbal Uzuner.
Semih Çelik first went to his girlfriend Ayşenur Halil’s home in Eyüpsultan around 3:30 p.m., where he killed her by slitting her throat. Shortly after, he met with İkbal Uzuner near the historic Edirnekapı city walls in Fatih. There, he decapitated Uzuner, dismembered her body, and threw her severed head in front of her mother. Earlier that day, Uzuner’s mother had received a phone call from an unknown man who had answered İkbal’s phone. The man reassured her, saying, “Your daughter is in safe hands.”
Fig.4 Çelik, who tied a rope around his neck, committed suicide by jumping from the walls.
Fig.5 Çelik had attempted suicide before and was reported missing twice.
The 19-year-old’s mother received another call, which directed her to come to the Edirnekapı area, claiming her daughter’s phone had fallen from the city walls. When she arrived, hoping to retrieve the phone, she was met with the horrifying sight of her daughter’s severed head being thrown from the walls and some body parts, shattering her worst fears. Çelik, who tied a rope around his neck, committed suicide by jumping from the walls.
Fig.6 Çelik first went to Ayşenur Halil’s home where he killed her by slitting her throat.
Fig.7 Police searching Çelik’s residence found a notebook containing disturbing charcoal drawings resembling how he committed the murders.
Authorities revealed that Çelik had a history of psychological problems and had been hospitalized five times over the past year due to mental health issues. His father confirmed his son’s struggles, stating in his police statement: “When I entered his room, I saw drawings that resembled satanic figures. When I asked him about them, he said, ‘You wouldn’t understand. Our (generations’) ways of thinking are different.’” Police searching Çelik’s residence found a notebook containing disturbing charcoal drawings of dismembered human figures, eerily resembling how he committed the murders. The police also found a video of Çelik threatening to kill one of the women. Searching through his mobile phone, police also found he was part of an ‘incel’ chat group online.
Fig.8 İkbal Uzuner was 19-years-old.
Fig.9 Ayşenur Halil was 19-years-old.
Çelik had three prior criminal records and worked as a butcher. He had also attempted suicide before and was reported missing twice. His father, mentioned that Semih had previously received treatment at Bakirkoy Mazhar Osman Mental Health Hospital, Eyup Mental Health Center and Cerrahpasa Mental Health Hospital. As of early October 2024, a total of 300 women have become victims of male violence in Turkey.
Fig.10 The historic Edirnekapı city walls in Fatih.
Video of the suicide.
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