Relatives of murdered 8-year-old girl put ‘bridal veil’ on coffin

Duvar English

The funeral of Narin Güran, the 8-year-old girl whose body was discovered 19 days after she went missing in the eastern province of Diyarbakır on Aug. 21, was held on Sept. 9, just a day after her body was found.

The body of the 8-year-old was found in a sack in a stream about two kilometers from the village where she lived.

The girl’s uncle who was also the village head where Narin Güran lived was arrested on Sept. 2. After the 8-year-old girl's body was found, 24 people were detained, including the child's mother, father, two older brothers, four uncles, and the wife of the previously arrested uncle.

The girl’s body was handed over to his relatives after the autopsy at the Forensic Medicine Institution. On Sept. 9, her remaining relatives organized a funeral for Narin Güran as most of her first-degree relatives had been put under custody and were not allowed to attend the ceremony.

The public reacted strongly against the relatives of the murdered 8-year-old child Narin for placing "a bridal veil" on her coffin during the funeral.

First confession comes in investigation

A suspect, who was detained after being found to have driven to the creek where the body was discovered and who also worked for the arrested uncle, confessed during his police interview.

"The headman gave the body to me in a sack. I took the sack and carried it to the stream," he stated.

Her uncle and the village head (“mukhtar”) Salim Güran was previously arrested in line with Narin Güran’s disappearance. The teams determined that the DNA samples taken from uncle Güran's vehicle matched the DNA samples on Narin Güran's clothes.

Cause of Narin's death remains unclear

According to the statement of Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, the autopsy process, which started at 10.30 a.m. (local time) by forensic medicine experts at Diyarbakır Forensic Medicine Institution, was completed at 9.40 in the evening. He also announced that some of the samples taken would be analyzed in Istanbul.

Journalist İsmail Saymaz wrote on Halk TV that the little girl's left leg was detached and that the cause of the detachment could only be found through further analyses.

In the report prepared at the first autopsy, the experts emphasized that “it would not be possible to make a solid statement as the body had started to decompose seriously.” They also noted that there were no visible injuries from sharp instruments or firearms.

Forensic Medicine Institute sources state that the exact cause of death would be announced within 15 days at the earliest and within a month at the latest.

A brawl in the waiting room of the hospital during the child's autopsy also became a topic of public discussion.

One of Narin Güran's relatives shouted at the crowd, "Go ahead and lie, okay?" A man next to her first tried to quiet her down and then punched her. The incident was captured on camera.

Journalist Emrullah Erdinç shared the footage and asked, "Has everyone who wanted to speak been silenced like this for 19 days?"

The relatives of the little girl, including her mother, attended a daytime TV show in the first days of her disappearance until a court issued a broadcast ban.