Boyfriend of woman, 39, who plunged 100 feet to her death during romantic clifftop proposal, is arrested after police found 'signs of violent struggle' and family say she wanted to leave him
- Nizamettin Gursu proposed to Yesim Demir on a cliff in northeastern Turkey
- He claims she fell when he turned his back on her for a moment
- Turkish officers have since arrested him after finding signs of a “violent struggle.”
Police have arrested the partner of a woman who plunged 100 feet to her death after finding “signs of a serious argument” at the sunset clifftop where they were due to celebrate their proposal.
Yesim Demir was on holiday with her boyfriend Nizamettin Gursu at Polente Cape in Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, when they went for a picnic the day after he proposed.
She plunged 32 meters and reportedly survived the plunge on the night of July 6, but died from her injuries in the early hours of the next day, despite medics – who her fiancé had called – trying to resuscitate her for 45 minutes .
Gursu told local media at the time: 'We chose the cliffs to have a romantic memory after the proposal. We drank some alcohol. Everything happened at once. She lost her balance and fell.”
He has now been arrested after her family filed a criminal complaint, Turkish media reported, claiming the couple had an argument after she rejected his proposal and her engagement ring was found in his pocket instead of on her finger.
Yesim Demir (photo, left) with her boyfriend Nizamettin Gursu (photo, right), undated
Gursu, 42, took his girlfriend to the cliff with a picnic basket, music box and alcohol to celebrate after she accepted his proposal earlier during their holiday
Gursu, 42, took his girlfriend to the cliff with a picnic basket, music box and alcohol to celebrate after she accepted his proposal earlier during their holiday.
He told police they had been drinking happily when he went to the car to get more supplies.
He said he heard a scream and then discovered, to his horror, that she had disappeared and had accidentally fallen off the cliff.
But the woman's family complained that she was planning to break up with her and that they would not have accepted the proposal.
Police found broken glasses and a broken speaker at the scene, signs of a violent struggle.
Police found broken glasses and a broken speaker at the scene, signs of a violent struggle.
Police have now reportedly arrested Gursu on suspicion of 'intentional murder'.
The family also gave further grounds for suspicion, saying that graphic designer Yesim suffered from panic attacks and would never have voluntarily been so close to the abyss.
Gursu is being held pending trial.
Femicide is a growing problem in Turkey, especially after the country officially left the Istanbul Convention in July 2021.
According to data from the 'Monument Counter', a 'digital memorial to women killed by violence' and updated daily, 393 women were murdered by men in 2022, while 376 femicides have occurred in Turkey so far this year.