A man who went on the run after shooting a 17-year-old girl in the head while apparently playing a sick game with a handgun has gone on trial in Turkey charged with premeditated murder.
Victim Melek Nur Ozgener died after she was hit at point-blank range when 32-year-old suspect Ercan Sahin allegedly pulled the trigger on New Year’s Eve last year (31st December 2023).
Melek had allegedly been in a car with Sahin and another person in Istanbul while he kept swinging the 9mm gun between them saying: “Should I shoot you? Or you?”
But suddenly, the gun went off and the bullet hit Melek in the head, according to local media reports.
Her 17-year-old friend, named as Nisa A., was not injured.
Sahin drove Melek to hospital and then fled.
She died six days later on 6th January and he was later arrested after going on the run.
The Istanbul Homicide Bureau found him hiding in a friend’s house in Alibeykoy on 10th January.
Now it has been revealed that he has gone on trial accused of premeditated murder, according to local media.
The defendant, Sahin, claimed: “If I had done such a thing deliberately, why would I take her to the hospital? My heart is at peace, I did not want to kill anyone.”
The prosecutor has nonetheless requested aggravated life imprisonment for the defendant for the “intentional murder of a child”.
Sahin told the court: “On the day of the incident, I was on the move, I was going to the grocery store, and while I was driving, I came across Nisa Nur A. and Melek.
“So I pulled the vehicle over. Melek was sick and cold, so I told her to get in the car out of kindness. I turned on the air conditioner.
“Since I had an enemy, I put the gun in the gearbox. I didn’t know whether the gun had a bullet in its barrel or not. I was on the phone at the time. I didn’t notice at the time that Melek had the gun in her hand.”
He added: “While taking it in his hand, he hit my hand and turned his head. Then the gun went off. If I had done something like this on purpose, why would I take him to the hospital? My heart is at peace, I didn’t want to kill anyone. I had known her for a year.”
His friend Nisanur A., meanwhile, claimed: “This incident happened by accident, but my people put pressure on me. They said to me, ‘Your friend died. Tell me that Ercan did this on purpose.’ I told the prosecutor that way because I was afraid.”
He added: “I gave a statement. While Defendant Şahin said, ‘This is not a toy’, Melek pushed the gun with his hand and then the gun went off. After the incident, we went to the hospital and laid Melek on the stretcher.
“Defendant Sahin said to me, ‘I will wait in front of the hospital.
“I have been subjected to threats and pressure from Melek’s family since the first day of the incident. Her father tried to attack me, the police intervened and they pressured me to change while I was testifying.”
The victim’s mother, named as Ayse Kucukosman, said: “I want to say this. A person cannot kill another person by mistake. The defence he gave in court with his first statement does not hold up. He killed her deliberately.”
She added: “I expect justice, hopefully justice will be provided. We were shocked when we heard what Nisanur said. We did not expect such a thing. The girl he called my dear friend suddenly reflected my daughter differently there.”
The trial is ongoing.