Life sentence for murderer of five

Fırat Yurdakul, who was convicted of killing five people in the central province of Sivas last year, has been handed down multiple life sentences.

Before the trial concluded Monday, Yurdakul said, "I didn't do it on purpose. I regret what I did and apologize to the families of the victims."

The court in Sivas handed down three instances of aggravated life imprisonment, two instances of life imprisonment and another eight years for murder and theft to the offender.

The 28-year-old defendant, a shepherd in a village of Sivas province's Şarkışla district, went on a killing spree after his girlfriend's parents said no to their marriage. The victims were the young woman's father and grandparents and two other villagers. Yurdakul had claimed his girlfriend's father threatened him when he asked for her hand in marriage and claimed they were planning to kill him. After murdering the family, he got into an argument with the owner of a local grocery store who refused to give him cigarettes. Yurdakul, armed with a shotgun, gunned down the store owner and his son before he stole a car and fled to another city where he was caught by police.