GUILTY Turkey - Sarai Sierra, 33, NY woman murdered, Istanbul, 21 Jan 2013 - #2

[Yashim]

Considering her numerous injuries including a bruised hip and broken fingers, I wonder if it's possible she was accidently hit by a car and fatally injured, then taken by the driver and tossed over the wall?

Interesting. Yet forensics would have figured that out by now. Yet still makes sense. They throw the smashed electronics into the water. Carry her to the cave. Try to make a small grave for her out of remorse. And take the jacket which got paint transferred from the vehicle.

 

[ToutCa]

The others who were attacked in that area were done so at knife point.

Ah, but the article said the Japanese tourist was assaulted with a rock and beaten on the head with it...

 

[Kluver13]

Well she wasnt just tossed over a wall, she was found in a cave thing with a fairly small diameter at its opening.

But that's a very interesting theory.

However why take her iPad and phone? And undress her?

This business about being undressed and the shoes really intrigues me. I can only think of 2 possible scenarios if she wasn't raped:
1. The killer was searching for something (money, drugs?) after she were deceased and pulled her trousers down at the crime scene
2. A struggle took place at a remote location during a romantic encounter and she was in a state of undress before the murder ocurred. She was then transported to the murder site as is without coat or trousers.

 

[ThinkHard]

This business about being undressed and the shoes really intrigues me. I can only think of 2 possible scenarios if she wasn't raped:
1. The killer was searching for something (money, drugs?) after she were deceased and pulled her trousers down at the crime scene
2. A struggle took place at a remote location during a romantic encounter and she was in a state of undress before the murder ocurred. She was then transported to the murder site as is without coat or trousers.

I'm more inclined to believe scenario 2, as its been reported again and again they don't believe there were any signs of forcable rape.

I haven't committed any murders, but I don't know what I would remove someone's pants to look for.

 

[ToutCa]

Interesting. Yet forensics would have figured that out by now. Yet still makes sense. They throw the smashed electronics into the water. Carry her to the cave. Try to make a small grave for her out of remorse. And take the jacket which got paint transferred from the vehicle.

At 1:30pm-ish in the afternoon on one of the busiest 4-lane roads in the area?

I don't buy it.

 

[Yashim]

BTW

A few years ago, in Istanbul, a teen girl was cut into pieces and disposed in a guitar case. According to police accounts, they arrive at the scene, they smell blood and figure out something certainly happened there. Yet they find nothing. Nobody can clean up in such a short time. After all they may not be as good as CSI teams in TV shows. And the fact that at least 1 week passed make blurs many details.

 

[Yashim]

At 1:30pm-ish in the afternoon on one of the busiest 4-lane roads in the area?

I don't buy it.

That road is not busy at that time of the day.

 

[CMac2]

Interesting. Yet forensics would have figured that out by now. Yet still makes sense. They throw the smashed electronics into the water. Carry her to the cave. Try to make a small grave for her out of remorse. And take the jacket which got paint transferred from the vehicle.

If they threw the damaged electronics into the water, how was someone able to turn them on- and on one occasion- make a Skype call on January 29th?

 

[NewYork625]

This business about being undressed and the shoes really intrigues me. I can only think of 2 possible scenarios if she wasn't raped:
1. The killer was searching for something (money, drugs?) after she were deceased and pulled her trousers down at the crime scene
2. A struggle took place at a remote location during a romantic encounter and she was in a state of undress before the murder ocurred. She was then transported to the murder site as is without coat or trousers.

Also, perhaps the attacker was in the process of attempting to rape her and either didn't because she passed away or because he was physically unable (no erection, or injured from Sarai fighting back) to commit the rape.

 

[CMac2]

Ah, but the article said the Japanese tourist was assaulted with a rock and beaten on the head with it...

We caught our guy!!

 

[KuriousKev]

I was thinking about their financial situation - or rather what we *think* may have been their financial situation. Here's something I haven't seen mentioned: iPads and smartphones are not cheap. Sure, the iPad could have been a gift, but a data plan for a smartphone (even one that was $0 on a 2-yr plan) still is not cheap. I choose to have a flip-phone to avoid the data plan costs. I do have an iPad with a 3G data plan and that is what I choose to pay for rather than also adding what I see as a redundant fee for access on a phone. For someone working part-time (like me - and like Sarai) who doesn't need internet access on their phone, it is an excessive cost that Sarai chose because she wanted it. Text messages and phone calls can be used to reach someone if there is an emergency with a child or someone else.

I guess my point is that they did have enough disposable income for such items. She was working part-time at a chiropractor's office and that may have been so that she could have money herself for such things as this trip. While hard to squeeze in financially for many people, it may not have been such a strain as we have thought it may be.

Good points. Some people are very poor at managing their finances and some people live beyond their means. SS filed for bankruptcy 7 years ago. As reported she worked part time and owned an iPad3, Samsung Galaxy S III, both are not inexpensive devices. Just re-posting what has already been reported.

 

[nursebeeme]

wow this thread is getting looooong! I will be back in a little bit with a new one..

 

[Sandstorm]

No eminonu is a busy touristy area on one end of the Galata bridge, where the spice market and Yeni Cami are located.

Where she was found was along the walls which run parrellel to Kennedy cadessi (busy 4 lane road, but its not a highway), about a mile from eminonu

So is it unsafe for SS or any other lady touring around to go to Eminonu alone? How far is it from Eminonu to the Wall where her body was discovered?

Since you know the area, are you of the mind that she was lured away from the touristy section?

 

[ToutCa]

That road is not busy at that time of the day.

I don't believe that someone could have hit her with their car, gotten out, left the car at the side of the road, carried the body up into the cavern, beat her for a while, collected her stuff, walked back down to his damaged car, and then left...

without leaving at least one witness.

Sorry, I don't buy this theory at all.

I think there are still a zillion possible theories (like your druggie, Yashim!!), but this car one doesn't fit the evidence.

For example, how to account for the attacker's DNA under her fingernails? She's still alive and starts fighting the driver at some point? It's just got too many holes to be realistic.

 

[CMac2]

I'm more inclined to believe scenario 2, as its been reported again and again they don't believe there were any signs of forcable rape.

I haven't committed any murders, but I don't know what I would remove someone's pants to look for.

But that doesn't explain the rips/tears to her pants.

Unless, of course, they were designer jeans with strategically-placed rips and tears. I was dumb enough to pay $100 once for a pair of those.

 

[ThinkHard]

That road is not busy at that time of the day.

I'm not sure how you can be so sure of that, I have definitely been in a taxi on that road, that time of day, and it we definitely were not the only car...it's not busy like the bridges get busy, but its hardly abandoned.

 

[ThinkHard]

So is it unsafe for SS or any other lady touring around to go to Eminonu alone? How far is it from Eminonu to the Wall where her body was discovered?

Since you know the area, are you of the mind that she was lured away from the touristy section?

Reread my post I stated the distance as 1MILE. Eminonu and the place she was found are NOT the same, they are an entire mile apart.

Yes I am under the assumption something specific made her go there.

 

[KuriousKev]

Someone said she indeed had one but found it too troublesome to carry around on her travels -- so she was using her phone and iPad for all her photos on her international voyage.

Is this a fact...Did you read this on her IG account? or are you referring to the long debate forum members had regarding their own personal choice to use a camera phone over a DSLR? (which is ridiculous BTW )

 

[CocoChanel]

There would have been multiple witnesses. He couldn't have just tossed her, he would have had to stop traffic on a 4-lane road, toil to carry her body up an incline and secrete it inside a crypt-like cavern structure. Not possible.

Plus, Turkish LE have stated she was murdered by intentional blows to the head. They have not denied press reports that the murder weapon was a rock and it was found at the scene.

BBM
Yes, but to be fair, it would be a fulltime job for someone from Turkish LE to confirm, deny or no-comment all the conflicting details that have been reported. I'm not sure we can use that lack of an official denial as a measuring stick.

I am beginning to wonder if all the mis-reporting is a brilliant plan to keep the public out of the business of LE. If I were them, and I didn't want the public all up in my business, I might plant a few whoppers to send everyone on a wild goose chase in a different direction than where I was investigating. Who really knows? I think I will only take as a possible FACT that which is stated and attributed to a named official. Unnammed sources are good for theories, but we have been duped before my friends.

 

[Munich]

Is it known which cave she was found in?

There was one sensationalized Turkish paper (the one that starts with a V) which had a photo pointing to this little hole in the cave. I could tell it was the same, due to the nearby tagging.

Other photos, like this one, don't appear to be in the same place.

Then there is the post @Belimom posted in #1566, which appears to be similar to the second image.

Some of the initial reports I read was that she was "dumped on the roadside" so that's also entirely different.

Here are a couple more images of those arches...

Also, the blog on which I found several of these states: I snapped these pics while walking along Kennedy Caddesi from the Sirkeci tram stop over to the Cankurtaran train stop. Kennedy Caddesi isn't very pedestrian friendly, and it certainly isn't the quickest way to get between the two stations, but I love these walls.

Makes me wonder if she, too, got distracted by the walls on the way to the next subway stop.

ETA: I hope those images are resized / attached differently. Sorry... I'm a bit new to this.