Turkish police nab suspects in Poe-esque murder

ŞANLIURFA - Demirören News Agency

Mehmet Yalçın

Police have nabbed the main suspects in a murder case in southeastern Turkey that is reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe stories.

Mehmet Yalçın, a 31-year-old grocer in Şanlıurfa’s Suruç district, was reported missing by his family on July 31.

After police found out that Yalçın was last seen in front of the house of his friend, identified only as Bülent Y., they questioned the latter, who denied any wrongdoing.

Bülent Y. was released, but the detectives who read his testimony called him back to the police station after they noticed some inconsistencies on Aug. 3.

The suspect confessed under the second detention that he killed the victim by beating him to get back 30,000 Turkish Liras he had loaned.

Bülent Y. also showed the house where he killed the victim but did not point the corpse to the police. It was a policeman who noticed a fresh piece of cement wall, before ordering it to be demolished and discovered the dead body, hidden behind the wall with brand new tiles.

Bülent Y. and his collaborator, identified only as Mehmet S., were arrested by a court this week.

Corpses hidden behind walls are common themes in two Poe stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat.”