Turkish police and gendarmerie teams have solved 60 murders committed between 2004 and 2024 in the first nine months of 2026, as authorities use advances in forensic technology and renewed examinations of evidence to crack long-unsolved cases.
According to information from Interior Ministry sources, the cases were solved between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2026, with 35 falling under police jurisdiction and 25 under the gendarmerie's responsibility. The oldest case dates back to 2004.
Investigators are revisiting evidence from previous case files and assessing it alongside newly obtained findings to identify suspects, drawing on advances in forensic technology and investigative techniques.
DNA comparisons, surveillance camera footage, telephone records, traffic data, mobile phone base station records and witness statements are among the sources of evidence being examined. Teams are also tracing physical evidence, including vehicle parts found at crime scenes, while investigating similarities between separate cases.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said efforts to solve murders committed in previous years were continuing with determination, warning that the passage of time did not mean perpetrators could escape justice.
“Those who think they have covered their tracks after committing murder and can no longer be found because time has passed are gravely mistaken,” Çiftçi said.
He stressed that police and gendarmerie teams were working in coordination with chief public prosecutors' offices and relevant institutions to pursue unsolved cases.
“With today's technological capabilities, our advancing forensic capacity and the work of our expert teams, we are reexamining evidence dating back years and overlooking not even the smallest detail,” Çiftçi said.
The minister described the resolution of the 60 cases as an important result of the security forces' meticulous work and strong interinstitutional coordination.
