A man has told the court that shooting his girlfriend was accidental despite her being shot four times.

Hasan Fakioglu, 22, a hairdresser in Eskisehir, Turkey, is accused of killing his girlfriend Aysenur Colakoglu, 21, with four bullets in the head and chest with a pistol during an argument at his flat in Tepebasi.

The beautiful young woman, who was in a relationship with Fakioglu for about eight months, was hit four times.

Fakioglu also claimed that he shot Aysenur accidentally during a row after she admitted that she had cheated on him.

But her devastated father, Mesut Colakoglu, told local media they had split up four months before and that Fakioglu had been pestering his daughter ever since.

Neighbours called emergency services on 18th December, 2022, after hearing gunfire and paramedics went straight to the scene, but Aysenur died of her wounds a short while later.

Fakioglu and a friend identified only as M. F., who was present at the time of the shooting, were arrested.

The prime suspect reportedly admitted that he had shot Aysenur but claimed her death was an accident.

He told reporters while being transferred by police: “I thought she was cheating on me. She died by accident.”

Fakioglu told the court at the first hearing of his trial in September: “On the day of the incident, Aysenur called me and said she wanted to meet.”

He added: “We met at a cafe, Aysenur told me we should go home and talk. My intention was to take her to the hospital and have her checked to see if she was pregnant.

“We went to my house by taxi. When we were alone, she told me she wasn’t pregnant. So I said let’s end our relationship.

“She reached for the gun under my bed and chaos broke out. She tried to commit suicide with the gun.

“I tried to get the gun, there was chaos.

“Meanwhile, the gun suddenly went off. I did not kill her by shooting her. I don’t know how the gun was fired during the chaos, I was in shock.

“My friend came and tried to bring me to my senses.”

Fakioglu said that he had bought the unlicensed gun after his father and uncle were shot in 2008.

Aysenur was also a hairdresser and had taken her final exam to get her certificate so she could open her own salon just hours before she was killed.

But now, another hearing at the Eskisehir Third High Criminal Court has been postponed to 15th February because of further phone investigations.

At the trial, Mesut, Aysenur’s father, said: “Our hearing has been postponed to 15th February. I trust the Republic of Turkiye. I trust our prosecutors and judges. I know they will do what is necessary.

“These are the last struggles of the killer. They are doing their best.

“I am calling out to our young girls and young children from here. Please don’t let someone else extinguish your inner light. Tell your family if there is such bullying. If there are threats, tell your family, not your friends.

“Our state has social institutions. Let them apply there. Because afterwards, they go underground and their families die every day. Please don’t let them and their families experience this.

“My daughter was like a diamond. She was very merciful. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

“He tortured my daughter by threatening, blackmailing, pressuring and beating her. My daughter only told these things to her friends.

“If necessary, all our women, girls and children should carry KADES [women’s support app]. Pressing it twice will be enough. Our state police will find them within three minutes. Don’t give them the opportunity, there are such people among us. Please don’t give them the opportunity. They should not turn good lives into prisons.

“The murderer will receive the heaviest punishment anyway.

“Justice will be served. My daughter’s soul will also be happy. I believe it.”

Femicide is a growing problem in Turkey, particularly after the country officially quit the Istanbul Convention in July 2021.

According to data from the ‘Monument Counter’, which is “a digital memorial for women killed by violence” and is updated daily, 393 women were killed by men in 2022, while 362 femicides have taken place in Turkey so far this year.