British man, 57, is led to his gruesome death after being lured to meet girl, 19, in ‘killer injection honey trap murder plot’ in Turkey
- It is believed that Murat Arpapay was tied to a chair and killed by lethal injection
This is when a British man was reportedly led to his death by a 19-year-old ‘honey trap’ in a suspected murder plot in Turkey.
The body of Murat Arpapay, who worked as a translator in the capital Istanbul after his childhood in Britain, was found by locals in the ventilation shaft of a rented flat in the city on July 27.
Experts believe the 57-year-old, who received money from his family in England, died by lethal injection after being tied to a chair, Turkish police say.
According to local media, Mr Arpapay had made friends online in the Sirinevler area of the capital before meeting them in person and falling in love with one of them, a teenager named Muhterem Percikli.
CCTV footage has been released showing Mr Arpapay, whose Facebook page suggests he studied at Newcastle College, arriving at an apartment block with the woman he thought was his new lover.
Murat Arpapay, 57, worked as a translator, moved abroad and apparently made new friends he met online from Sirinevler in Istanbul
It is believed that Murat Arpapay was tied to a chair and killed by lethal injection after meeting the teenager, named Muhterem Percikli (pictured) after moving to Turkey from England
Percikli has since been arrested along with police, while four other people believed to have been involved in the plot to kill him and steal his money have been named, CNN Turk reports.
Police say that after Mr Arpapay and Percikli entered the rental flat, three other people entered soon after: Serpil Demir, Dogan Sariyildiz and Fatih Erginoglu. A fifth suspect was later identified as Ersen Basak.
According to local media, the suspects told officers that Mr Arpapay lived in England for many years and was funded by family.
It is thought that Mr Arpapay had interacted with Basak on social media before they met in person ahead of his move to Turkey.
It is alleged that Basak then devised a plan to steal money from the victim’s house, enlisting the help of Percikli and her friend Demir.
The pair visited a cafe owned by Basak to meet Mr Arpapay, which then led to an alleged relationship between Percikli and Mr Arpapay.
On the day of his murder, July 26, Mr Arpapay and Percikli went to his rental flat in Sirinevler, where he was beaten and knocked unconscious after being handcuffed by the group, according to CCN Turk.
The publication claims he was then killed by having a chemical injected into his body, before the gang threw his body down a ventilation shaft, where it was discovered the following morning.
After the autopsy report, the police launched an investigation and discovered CCTV footage showing that Arpapay had arrived at the apartment building with his alleged partner Percikli.
In the meantime, it is believed that the group went to Mr. Arpapay’s house in Istanbul’s Bahcelievler district and stole money he had inside.
According to local media, police launched a murder investigation after an autopsy showed he had been tied at the wrists and injected with something in the neck.
Percikli and Demir were arrested by police after being identified on the CCTV footage, with Basak fleeing to Georgia and Sariyildiz and Fatih Erginoglu traveling to Cyprus.
Percikli and Demir remain in custody as police prepare to file a ‘Red Bulletin’ request calling for the arrests of Basak, Sariyildiz and Erginoglu, CCN Turk reports.