Autopsy report confirms 8-year-old Narin's cause of death as suffocation

The autopsy report for 8-year-old Narin Güran, who was found dead in rural Diyarbakır province of Turkey 19 days after going missing, identified the cause of death as the "suffocation of the mouth and nose." The report was not conclusive on whether Narin was sexually abused.

Friday September 20 2024 11:01 am

Duvar English

Turkey’s Forensic Medicine Institute completed its investigation into the death of 8-year-old Narin Güran, who went missing in Diyarbakır’s Bağlar district on Aug. 21 and was found 19 days later, on Sept. 8, with her lifeless body hidden in a sack in a creek.

The Forensic Medicine Institute evaluated forensic documents and the autopsy report for Narin Güran and submitted their findings to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to reports from Anadolu Agency (AA).

The report stated that "based on the available data, no medical assessment could be made regarding whether Narin Güran had been subjected to sexual assault" and noted that the child's death occurred on Aug. 21, the day she went missing.

The report concluded unanimously that "the child’s death was caused by asphyxiation due to suffocation of the mouth and nose, along with pressure applied to the neck." It further detailed that the trauma causing her left leg to be severed below the knee was the result of post-mortem animal activity.

A separate report from the Forensic Medicine Institute, analyzing bite marks found on the arm of Narin’s brother, Enes Güran, is expected to be released on Sept. 20.

The forensic examination revealed that Narin Güran was strangled to death. The report indicated that the suspect applied pressure to Narin’s chest, focusing heavily on the left side of her neck, according to reporting by the news channel Habertürk.

Based on the findings, it was concluded that Narin was manually strangled. The areas of intense bleeding and pressure marks on her chest suggest that the suspect may have strangled her by wrapping their arm around her from behind.

Güran went missing on Aug. 21 in Diyarbakır’s Tavşantepe village. Her dead body was found found on Sept. 8 in a stream near her village.

24 people were previously detained in total during the investigation. Her uncle and the village head (“mukhtar”) Salim Güran was previously arrested.

The court arrested eight suspects, including Güran’s mother Yüksel Güran (44), brother Enes Güran (18), another uncle Fuat Güran (42), cousin Muhammed Kaya, other relatives and Salim Güran’s worker.

The total number of arrested people reached 10, with uncle Salim Güran and neighbor Nevzat Bahtiyar arrested previously.

Bahtiyar confessed that he put the dead body of Güran in a stream inside a sack upon the instruction of the girl’s uncle and the village head Salim Güran for 200,000 liras ($5,873).