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

[NewYork625]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2275605/Sarai-Sierra-New-York-mother-murdered-Turkey-sex-secret-lover-bar-restroom-day-bludgeoned-death.html

BBM "She told her family she wanted to pursue her dream of taking pictures in Turkey – yet her only equipment was an iPad and Droid phone. Both items were missing when Sarai’s body was found but the murderer did not take her wedding ring or other jewellery."

I wonder if she hid the ring while in Amsterdam?

 

[lavy]

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?

Yes I was very curious about this and its been released today.
Her sightseeing pattern looks normal. She was at the same area all the time. I would expect an Asian side trip maybe a day in the islands etc. but of course I am talking as a local so what she have done is normal.

If she really did these, I believe her innocence. She was an in experienced tourist. Her local contact didn't offer much help.

8 January: Gets settled in the basement studio she rented in Tarlabasi

9 January: Goes out to get to know the area. Meets the grocery store guy, checkso out places to eat

10 January: Leaves room at noon. Goes to Sulyanahmet (Square). Visits Blue Mosque and Byzantium obelisks in teh Suqare to take photos. Return to Tarlabasi

11 January: First goes to Karaköy., teh to Galata Bridge. Eats at one one the fish restaurant under the bridge. Afterwards, takes photos on the bridge.

12 January: Goes back to Sultanahmet, visits Arasta Bazaar and Ahmet the third Foundation.

13 January: Goes to Eminönü around noon, takes a tour ferry to see Bosporus. Takes photos of Istanbul from teh ferry. Meets Taylan K.

14 January: Resumes her visit to Eminönü. Goes to Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar. Does some shopping and takes photos. Returns Taksim in the early evening. After sunset, goes to Galata Tower. Goes in the Tower, takes photos. Lates, takes photos of the Arabic Mosque. (was initially a Gothic church)

15 January: Leaves room to go to the Airport and takes off for Amsterdam.

16-17-18 January: Out of Turkey

19 January: Arrives at Istanbul Airport. Goes to her flat.

20 January: Wanders around in Beyoglu. Goes to a mall. Walks around Istiklal Avenue. Meets with Taylan K.

21 January: The day she went missing. On the Galata Bridge at 11:30. Seen in Sirkeci circa 13:15.

2 February: Found dead in a cave in the historical (Byzantium) city walls around 16:00.

 

[tardislass]

About her saying she was single, I thought it a bit odd how her neighbors would talk about her husband calling her his Queen yet no mention was made of her love for her husband. Only that she'd never leave her children. Just think the love was lopsided.

Not that it has to do with her murder. Sorry, if I'm a bit confused but is LE now saying her pants and coat were missing? If so it could either be that the killer thought the bloodstains had too much evidence or he removed them after death.

 

[Munich]

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 perused the IG account only briefly, but others have also mentioned there isn't much if any interaction between her and her husband there.

Staying with men and giving suggestive "If you show me yours, I'll show you mine" comments makes me think she was definitely relishing in the attention, which is fair enough.

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 suspect there might be slightly more interest in AMS, because they have a contact with whom she stayed. I have read literally nothing about MUC outside of the fact her passport was stamped here and she left to IST from here.

No commentary on where she stayed or with whom, no photos on IG, nothing. In thread 2 I mentioned if she came and stayed at a hostel she likely stayed in the Turkish area near the Hauptbahnhof train station. Did she have a contact here?

We do not have a big drug scene (that I'm aware of) and it's the most expensive city in Germany. Many of the subways have cameras in them, so I would think they could have tracked her a little bit.

We have one of the best qualities of life world wide (it was just rated 4th this year) but it's not a huge tourist destination at this time of year unless there's an interest in skiing. To stay for days on a tight budget doesn't make sense.

 

[KuriousKev]

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

Not surprising to me at all.

 

[tardislass]

I thought the LE had pictures of her in the airport in Munich?

If she had her passport stamp in Munich then she must have exited the airport as I never got mine stamped when I had a London layover.

 

[CMac2]

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.

There were some statement made that a ring was among the jewelry that was left untouched when she was found. I have not yet seen anything that tells me whether it was a wedding ring or not. I know others were speculating about whether or not local homeless/druggies would have been willing to take the ring or not, because of its symbolism.

 

[lavy]

I wonder if she hid the ring while in Amsterdam?

I wonder now if AR knew if she is married and have children. I know he said they were "just" friends but did he comment on this at all?

The Munich trip is a complete mystery for me.

 

[CMac2]

Is there any evidence she did tell Ammer she was single? Did he say so?

I believe Ammer was aware of her marital status from the start, because her husband had been in contact with him prior to her going to Amsterdam. He'd asked Ammer to take care of her.

According to the AirBnb guy, however, she told him she was single.

 

[diamond12]

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

Oh please noooooo...though I like terrible rap songs.

 

[necco]

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 think I said this already, but in case I didn't. I think that she was branching out. I think she was finding herself again. I think this trip was, on some level, about being simply Sarai. Even her IG name, clever as it is, can be seen as indicative of this. I think she has been someone's daughter, then someone's wife and now someone's mother. I think she may have longed, for at least a few weeks, to simply be herself, undefined by her relationship to others. Mid-thirties, children relatively independent, going back to school, taking a photography class and falling in love with a new art form, all of these things can be signs of someone redefining themselves. Add that to the psychological effect that Sandy could have had (yes, I know her neighborhood was fine, but SI was annihilated in general, I'm sure there's a lot of people who suffered little or no physical damage, but spent time reassessing priorities.)

Please note: I am not saying in any way that she resents her parents, her husband or her children. Just that she was looking to figure out who she is.

 

[NewYork625]

There were some statement made that a ring was among the jewelry that was left untouched when she was found. I have not yet seen anything that tells me whether it was a wedding ring or not. I know others were speculating about whether or not local homeless/druggies would have been willing to take the ring or not, because of its symbolism.

The UK Daily Mail did report she was found with a wedding ring (my post this thread #21), but who knows where they got that information from?

 

[Yellow]

I perused the IG account only briefly, but others have also mentioned there isn't much if any interaction between her and her husband there.

Staying with men and giving suggestive "If you show me yours, I'll show you mine" comments makes me think she was definitely relishing in the attention, which is fair enough.



I suspect there might be slightly more interest in AMS, because they have a contact with whom she stayed. I have read literally nothing about MUC outside of the fact her passport was stamped here and she left to IST from here.

No commentary on where she stayed or with whom, no photos on IG, nothing. In thread 2 I mentioned if she came and stayed at a hostel she likely stayed in the Turkish area near the Hauptbahnhof train station. Did she have a contact here?

We do not have a big drug scene (that I'm aware of) and it's the most expensive city in Germany. Many of the subways have cameras in them, so I would think they could have tracked her a little bit.

We have one of the best qualities of life world wide (it was just rated 4th this year) but it's not a huge tourist destination at this time of year unless there's an interest in skiing. To stay for days on a tight budget doesn't make sense.

Do we know for sure that she left the airport in Munich? I think I recall you saying that since her passport was stamped that indicates she came by plane rather than train...

I would think they would have surveillance of her in the airport too, and possibly also on public transport if she indeed left the airport.

I do not think she would have gone to Munich this time of year unless she had a friend there. I mean she had friend in Amsterdam and Istanbul why would Munich be different?

Of course if this was just a layover then none of that matters. Maybe it was layover and Munivh fare was cheapest..

 

[NewYork625]

I believe Ammer was aware of her marital status from the start, because her husband had been in contact with him prior to her going to Amsterdam. He'd asked Ammer to take care of her.

According to the AirBnb guy, however, she told him she was single.

By AirBnb guy, do you mean the landlord where she was staying? Is he the same one she told Ammer was "creepy". If that's the case, you would think she would have told him she was married to get him to keep his distance.

 

[CMac2]

We have one of the best qualities of life world wide (it was just rated 4th this year) but it's not a huge tourist destination at this time of year unless there's an interest in skiing. To stay for days on a tight budget doesn't make sense.

I think the current theory is that she had a lay-over in Munich on her way back to Istanbul. Someone in the last thread found a flight that is literally half the price of other Amsterdam-Istanbul flights that had a 9 1/2 hour layover in Munich. I don't believe she spent the night there. It seems like it was more of a stop on her way back to Istanbul from Amsterdam, and is likely she never left the airport there.

 

[KuriousKev]

Nothing extraordinary but I did find this interesting so I'll share:

MailOnline: UPDATED: 05:50 EST, 8 February 2013

"Meanwhile, friends today told MailOnline that the beautiful woman appeared nervous in the weeks leading up to her solo trip to Istanbul.

'Sarai had never been abroad before and she seemed more scared than excited when I last saw her,' said a neighbor at the smart apartment block where Sarai lived with her husband Steve and their sons, aged 9 and 11.

'When she first talked of going to Europe three months ago her eyes were alight with excitement. But as the time neared she seemed very nervous.

'I’m not surprised really – I told her even experienced travelers worry. But I did say she was brave to go alone.'

LINK

Obviously going abroad for the first time would have been scary for her

 

[tardislass]

So not much about the case is the Engligh Turkey papers. Just her funeral and the rumored sex with Taylan /Tarkan. Amazing that a case can be cold so fast with numerous LE involved.

 

[Munich]

I thought the LE had pictures of her in the airport in Munich?

If she had her passport stamp in Munich then she must have exited the airport as I never got mine stamped when I had a London layover.

If you flew through Munich to another Schengen zone country (most of Europe - all green in the image) then you would not receive a stamp. In SS's case she was going from Europe to Istanbul, thus she would receive one on the way to IST.

As for those airport images I do not believe they are from MUC. I travel through there frequently and we do not have a floor that color, nor do we have that cage structure around the security x-ray belts.

This is the image I'm referring to:

 

[lucky181]

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.

The first news reports were incorrect. She spent 3 days in AMS and left for Munich the 18th. The IGs that Ammer posted appear to be from the evening...he escorted her to the airport and had some coffee before going back home. That still makes the Munich layover not make much sense but it was for less 24 hours.

 

[CMac2]

By AirBnb guy, do you mean the landlord where she was staying? Is he the same one she told Ammer was "creepy". If that's the case, you would think she would have told him she was married to get him to keep his distance.

Yep- I'm referring to the landlord. And I totally agree. I think it was lavy who said in a previous thread that had it been her, she'd have told the landlord she was married with 10 brothers. LOL.

Maybe she told him she was single when she first got there- before she'd gotten any creepy vibes from him.

Or maybe the landlord is lying and she never told him she was single to begin with. Though I don't know what his motivation would be to lie about something like that. Why make something up to cast the victim in a more negative light after she's already dead? Unless, of course, he's the one who killed her.