Turkish serial killer, the Hunter, sentenced to life in prison again

KAYSERİ

A Turkish serial killer, dubbed “the Hunter,” has been sentenced to life in prison once again, after he murdered another man one year following his latest release on bail.

Hamdi Kayapınar, 39, was arrested for the Aug. 2 killing of Sami Yılmaz, the security guard of a villa in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

Confessing to the murder, he said he killed the man because he “liked his gun.”

Police had found stolen pistols and shotguns at the suspect’s house.

Demirören News Agency reported Feb. 11 that the 1st Heavy Penal Court in Kayseri sentenced Kayapınar to aggravated life sentence over premeditated murder and looting.

The relatives of Yılmaz’s latest victim hailed the ruling and called on authorities to keep the convict in jail.

Kayapınar had committed his first murder in 1994 when he killed his brother by strangling him.

Just months after his conditional release in 1998, Yılmaz killed seven men in three years. He was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to life in prison. He was conditionally released again in February 2017.

Almost a decade ago, Turkish media had dubbed Kayapınar as “the hunter,” after he referred to his victims as “prey” and their belongings as “bounty.”

He had told the judge that he started to kill people out of hatred toward society, which he said started when he was pushed out of his family and the community after his first murder.

The latest court sentence was issued after medical experts approved that Kayapınar had no mental issues that affect his criminal liabilities.