Turkish girl found burned to death, three arrested

Turkish security forces on Friday arrested three suspects over the tragic death of Ö.A, a 20-year-old woman, who was a university student in the southern province of Mersin and was burnt after she was allegedly raped and heinously murdered by the driver of a bus she had boarded to go home.

The victim's charred body was found dumped in a creek, three days after she went missing on February 11. She was last seen boarding a passenger minibus after spending a day out with her friend. It was reported that the victim met with her friend after school on Wednesday, and boarded on the local Tarsus-Mersin-Adana minibus, driven by S.A., the 26-year-old murderer.

The Gendarmerie forces stopped the minibus while conducting a random traffic search and discovered stains of blood on the seats, and detained three people including the driver, his 20 year-old friend and father after they realized that the driver was acting in a suspicious manner. The driver claimed the stains were there as a result of two passengers who had a fight on the minibus and the three suspects were released accordingly.

As the gendarmerie was informed about the victim's disappearance, they conducted another search on the minibus and the police detained the driver's father and friend. The driver was detained later.

The two suspects confessed they set the victim on fire as the driver sought their help after killing her. It was reported that the suspects aided and abetted the driver's crime by suggesting that they burn the corpse and throw the remains in a nearby creek, as they thought nobody would be able to identify the body.

The victim's remains could not be identified by her friend who was the last person to see her on the day of the incident, and a forensic test was conducted.

The suspects were brought to the hospital for a health check-up after they were taken under custody, where citizens attempted to lynch them for carrying out such a heinous crime.

Police suspect the victim was raped before her murder and an inquiry is underway.

The 26-year old perpetrator is allegedly married and has a child.