GUILTY Turkey - Sarai Sierra, 33, NY woman murdered, Istanbul, 21 Jan 2013 - #3

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Sarai Sierra, a mother of two who enjoys photography, was looking forward to her trip and arrived in Istanbul on Jan. 7. She was supposed to return to New York on Jan. 21.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Staten-Island-Woman-Sarai-Sierra-Missing-Turkey-188580261.html

missing-ny-woman-sarai-sierra.jpg



A couple more links:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/26/family-staten-island-mother-of-two-missing-in-turkey/



http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...86cad0-6841-11e2-83c7-38d5fac94235_story.html


Her passport and medical cards were found in her hotel room. She was traveling alone but skyped with her husband daily. The last he heard she said she was going to the Galeta bridge (a well-known tourist destination in Instanbul).


Note to mods: I couldn't post this thread without picking a prefix, but none of them fit this case. Is there one you would suggest?

[ame=http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197056]Thread #1[/ame]
Thread #2
 
Here is Sarai's instagram account. She has taken some wonderful photos. This account seems to be all photos of NYC. I wonder if she has posted recent photos taken in Istanbul somewhere.

http://statigr.am/memyself_sarai


Sarai appears to have a very large online community of friends on Instagram. If you click on the first photo you will see many comments from friends and others.

She belongs to a group called @_made_in_NYers. Many of them have posted photos of her for sharing and getting her information out there, particularly in Istanbul.

Here is her brother's IG account and a photo of Sarai that he has asked people to share.


http://statigr.am/p/376809509984850632_2337227

a9015546671e11e2a97322000a1fb158_7.jpg
 
About the pants.....I keep thinking to myself, even if I were REALLY strong, moving a 100+lb dead body (by myself) would not be an easy undertaking, especially if it were pushed INTO or dragged out of a 'hole/cave'. If there was little room to navigate inside the crevice, it could be surmised that one would pull or drag the body by the clothing and shoes. It would be too difficult to push a dead body into a small area feet first, so I would assume she was put there head first and adjusted by the legs. I just keep imagining someone placing a dead body in a location where it can't be carried and laid down and I just don't think it would be very easy. Granted, I don't think we know EXACTLY where she was found, but the killer could have pulled her shoes off and then not wanted to try and put them back on. Also, the pants could have been pulled down along with the underwear simply by force of pulling on the legs of the jeans.
 
Sandstorm,

Among all the big cities, I believe Istanbul is one of the safest one, i.e. with respect to random violent crime. There are dangerous parts of the town, yet unlikely a tourist will end up there.

I use to be more worried about terrorism. That's pretty much under control and the world has seen that it happens anywhere. Perhaps we owe the extensive surveillance cameras to the threat of terrorism.

Since tourism income is important for Turkey, extra precautions are taken in touristic areas.

However, if you are not careful, even crossing the road on a Sunday morning can be dangerous.

I honestly believe intercity highway traffic safety is where Turkey fails. And females sometimes complain about over flirtatious Turkish men in the tourism business. (I tried a euphemism here by I guess I failed.)

Yet if you ever come to Istanbul, here are some tips:

- Don't make side trips, stay in Istanbul the whole time.

- Make sure you have a camera with you. People may take you for a drug mule or a spy if you take pictures with an iPad/phone.

- Make sure to post at least 10 photos a day online, taken at least in two different locations.

- If you're married, take your husband along. If you're not, marry someone and bring him along. You'll divorce him later.

- If you have kids, just don't come, it's better to stay at home at all times.

- And don't use cheap accommodation, people will question whether you can afford the trip, and may believe you're in Istanbul to rob a bank or something.

I'll add more, but I am also learning.
 
Sandstorm,

Among all the big cities, I believe Istanbul is one of the safest one, i.e. with respect to random violent crime. There are dangerous parts of the town, yet unlikely a tourist will end up there.

I use to be more worried about terrorism. That's pretty much under control and the world has seen that it happens anywhere. Perhaps we owe the extensive surveillance cameras to the threat of terrorism.

Since tourism income is important for Turkey, extra precautions are taken in touristic areas.

However, if you are not careful, even crossing the road on a Sunday morning can be dangerous.

I honestly believe intercity highway traffic safety is where Turkey fails. And females sometimes complain about over flirtatious Turkish men in the tourism business. (I tried a euphemism here by I guess I failed.)

Yet if you ever come to Istanbul, here are some tips:

- Don't make side trips, stay in Istanbul the whole time.

- Make sure you have a camera with you. People may take you for a drug mule or a spy if you take pictures with an iPad/phone.

- Make sure to post at least 10 photos a day online, taken at least in two different locations.

- If you're married, take your husband along. If you're not, marry someone and bring him along. You'll divorce him later.

- If you have kids, just don't come, it's better to stay at home at all times.

- And don't use cheap accommodation, people will question whether you can afford the trip, and may believe you're in Istanbul to rob a bank or something.

I'll add more, but I am also learning.

I'm jotting down these most helpful tips, Yashim!

Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk 2
 
- If you're married, take your husband along. If you're not, marry someone and bring him along. You'll divorce him later.
So that's what I've been doing wrong...
 
Yashim, you missed the most important tip of them all! STAY AWAY from anyone named Tarkan :what:
 
We need more info. Otherwise we're going to end up talking about sex and terrible rap songs again.

Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk 2
 
Where is everyone? Wait don't say it today is Saturday and everybody is having fun. So much to catch up. It is a pity that I can't quote from the previous thread.

First of all I am so glad we have a the list of places she had been. Yashim, I wish I asked for something else. Name of the peep for example.
It looks like normal touristic trip to me. And she hasn't been in the Asian side. Maybe she was really planning to go.

ThinkHard said:
It says on the 21st she was seen at Galata bridge at 1130....but earlier reports have her at the tower at this point....also she messaged Taylan from the tower at 1133.

I also thought it was weird that she had been at the tower on an earlier date (before the Amsterdam /Munich trip), but then via her message to Taylan was there again on the 21st? Why would a tourist visit the same site twice, when there is so much to see.

Does anyone else find that weird or confusing?

I do. I looked at the past reports.

From what I understand she went to Galata Tower sat in a cafe from 11:00 to 11:33 and then walked to the bridge. I don't find it strange that she went to the tower it was on her way to the bridge. However it is a bit strange that she wanted to go to the bridge, she should have passed the bridge at least 8 times before that day.

She generally she walked around the same are. Haven't been in Asian side or Ortakoy-Bebek etc.

CMac2 said:
Lavy's off smoking... errr... curating those dead plants in her purse.

:floorlaugh::floorlaugh:
 
Where is everyone? Wait don't say it today is Saturday and everybody is having fun. So much to catch up. It is a pity that I can't quote from the previous thread.

It's been pretty quiet since nurse started thread #3. Like everyone lost their train of thought or something!
 
OMG, thanks Yashim for all this helpful information. I came to realize, I'm the most suspicious traveller of the world... I have no IG, Fakebook :what: , twitter or any other social media account to share with the world all my photos or to inform them what I'm doing every minute of the day. Now what? :confused:
 
Yashim, you missed the most important tip of them all! STAY AWAY from anyone named Tarkan :what:

No no Taylan. No problem with Tarkans

Guys sorry for my Turkish but Yashim do you read/follow eksisozluk? Everytime I hear Taylan it reminds me the joke about people called Taylan from there.

I hope you or anyone from your family is not called Taylan :blushing:
 
OMG, thanks Yashim for all this helpful information. I came to realize, I'm the most suspicious traveller of the world... I have no IG, Fakebook :what: , twitter or any other social media account to share with the world all my photos or to inform them what I'm doing every minute of the day. Now what? :confused:

Well, if you have a WS account, what else matters? :)

Yashim, with all his wonderful tips sure does make you wonder how in the world you managed to survive all these years, doesn't he?
 
There are now reports she was telling people she was single, including the AirBnB guy.

Ammer (the Amsterdam guy) says she had a layover in Munich, which makes no sense timewise. There are several unaccounted for days during her jaunt out of Istanbul.

There's a big difference between flying to AMS on 15 January and then to Munich the next day. This is not a layover, since she returned to IST on 19 January. The media here is not even asking "Have you seen this woman". Very strange.

They are also now reporting the other tourists (Swedish and Japanese) as well as this "rape black spot"

As for this large chin wound it does sound like she could have fallen from something during this attack or perhaps there was some kind of knife involved to threaten her with.

[LINK]
 
There are now reports she was telling people she was single, including the AirBnB guy.

I found this interesting as well- I don't remember if we talked about it in the 1st or 2nd thread- might have been both.

In addition to allegedly telling the AirBnB guy she was single, there is no mention of her husband or kids on her IG account. That by itself isn't strange- lots and lots of people prefer to keep their private lives private online, but it does take on a new significance if she did tell AirBnB guy she was single.

I think at the very least SS was open to a romantic encounter in Turkey, even if she did not outright plan for it to happen.
 
That brings up a good point Munich. What is the media exposure in Munich and Amsterdam in this case? You just said Munich is not asking if anyone saw this woman, which, if she was in the city for any length of time, is odd

What about Amsterdam? Is media there asking who saw her?

It is never clear to me what went on in Munich. Was it just a layover on the plane? Was she actually in the city? As I recall, I remember taking a train from airport (the most beautiful airport I have been) to the city, so I imagine if she went to city she might have done the same thing....

What was her purpose in Munich trip? Are there IG there? It does not seem she went out to Alps, which is main tourist thing in Munich. If in Munich, and if this is once in a lifetime trip, why not go out and see the beautiful Alps and castles? What was she doing in Munich?

Even her trip in Istanbul seems a little weird. It seems like she was more interested in meeting friends than seeing the sites, as I recall someone mentioning she did not see some of the major sites until the end? What do we know she saw in Istanbul in terms of sites? Did she goes to the Hafia Sophia?
 
I found this interesting as well- I don't remember if we talked about it in the 1st or 2nd thread- might have been both.

In addition to allegedly telling the AirBnB guy she was single, there is no mention of her husband or kids on her IG account. That by itself isn't strange- lots and lots of people prefer to keep their private lives private online, but it does take on a new significance if she did tell AirBnB guy she was single.

I think at the very least SS was open to a romantic encounter in Turkey, even if she did not outright plan for it to happen.

I wonder if she was wearing a wedding ring while on her trip? Was there any mention of her being found wearing a ring? I noticed her husband is wearing a wedding ring in one of the recent photos.
 
I found this interesting as well- I don't remember if we talked about it in the 1st or 2nd thread- might have been both.

In addition to allegedly telling the AirBnB guy she was single, there is no mention of her husband or kids on her IG account. That by itself isn't strange- lots and lots of people prefer to keep their private lives private online, but it does take on a new significance if she did tell AirBnB guy she was single.

I think at the very least SS was open to a romantic encounter in Turkey, even if she did not outright plan for it to happen.

There is a difference too in just not mentioning your marital status versus affirmatively lying and saying you are single when you are married. We don't know if she was separated for years and perhaps did consider herself single or whether she did feel she was married and said she was single bc she wanted to hook up.

I wonder if her answers varied depending on who she talked to.. Like if not interested in person romantically, she said she was married. It is a little odd that it appears none of her online friends were women...all men it seems.. Perhaps she did feel herself to be single, maybe she was for a long time, and this was a way for her to get back dating w no strings attached...
 
I found this interesting as well- I don't remember if we talked about it in the 1st or 2nd thread- might have been both.

In addition to allegedly telling the AirBnB guy she was single, there is no mention of her husband or kids on her IG account. That by itself isn't strange- lots and lots of people prefer to keep their private lives private online, but it does take on a new significance if she did tell AirBnB guy she was single.

I think at the very least SS was open to a romantic encounter in Turkey, even if she did not outright plan for it to happen.

Other than any possible criminal intent I wholeheartedly believe any other possible reason was a romantic encounter/companionship.
 
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