Mystery continues to surround the death of a young British woman in Turkey after her mother received an alleged suicide note.
Local judges closed the case when they ruled that Ayse Rhiannon Vural shot herself in her Istanbul apartment on September 11, 2020.
The 26-year-old was found with a gunshot wound to her head a day after a violent argument with her boyfriend, who also allegedly threatened her with death.
Now her heartbroken mother Tracie Brookes says serious questions remain unanswered about the police investigation, and the return of an alleged suicide note has left her with more questions than answers.
Tracie came to Turkey to retrieve her daughter’s belongings and a copy of the investigation file. Upon her arrival in Turkey, the mother learned that her daughter had left a suicide note, which was handed over along with other belongings.
To add to the mystery, while looking through the list of her daughter’s belongings found after her death, Tracie discovered that some things were missing.
British mother Tracie Brookes is fighting for justice after her 26-year-old daughter was found with a gunshot wound to the head in Turkey a day after a violent argument with her boyfriend. She recently handed over her daughter’s belongings (pictured), but says some are missing
Brookes (left) says serious questions remain unanswered about the investigation into the death of her daughter – Ayse Rhiannon Vural (right) – and that the return of an alleged suicide note left her with more questions than answers
These included two large suitcases and her daughter’s beloved stuffed bunny – a stuffed toy of Disney’s Thumper from the movie ‘Bambi’, which had been with her since childhood and was found on her chest when she was found dead.
The small package she received contained only a few items belonging to her daughter, including a laptop, three mobile phones, keys, a cloth bag, a T-shirt, perfume, an ultrasound scan, a sheet of paper with ‘Ararat’ on top. ‘ and an address written on it, and several sheets of drawing paper.
In addition, a single dollar bill found on Ayse’s bedside table was handed over.
But perhaps most importantly, Tracie finally received the alleged suicide letter.
The note read: ‘I have found my identity. I never told anyone that it was taken from me, but maybe I lost it myself. Everything I have can be given to my sister. My mother can decide for herself what she does.’
And on another piece of paper it said: ‘Ararat, I am so happy. He is my soulmate, my life. Ararat is gone, my life is gone. Bye.’
With tears in her eyes and her daughter’s rings around her neck, Tracie stood outside the courthouse and said, “I have even more questions than before.
‘The day before her death, she had reported the crime to her ex-boyfriend Ararat Ozer.
‘He had hit Ayse and threatened to kill her if he saw her again.
“Where is all her money, and who gave her that $1 bill?
‘The only thing I want to get back is the rabbit. She took it everywhere. It was on her chest when she died, and where is it now?
‘Ayse loved life, and she loved Istanbul. These are the only things left of her.”
Brookes says items were missing from the list of her daughter’s belongings found after her death. These were two large suitcases and her daughter’s beloved stuffed bunny – a stuffed toy of Disney’s Thumper (pictured) from the movie ‘Bambi’, which had been with her since childhood and was found on her chest when she was found dead
The young girl, who requested a restraining order, reportedly told police they broke up eight months earlier but that they would see each other occasionally.
She reportedly said the two started arguing after he saw her guests leaving and became jealous, then started cursing at her.
He allegedly threatened her by saying: ‘If you don’t leave here tonight, I will kill you. If you are with another man I will kill you,” and allegedly assaulted her.
The next day she was dead.
Ararat is currently under investigation over suspicions that he is a member of a criminal gang.
However, Tracie said prosecutors only treated him as an informant after he claimed he was out of town on the day of the murder.
He further claimed that Ayse threatened him with suicide if he left her.
The grieving mother visited her daughter’s grave before returning to her country.
She added: “I know there are some items missing. What’s left of my daughter’s life is in Istanbul. I will return to England. I hope to reopen the case.
“I don’t believe Ayse committed suicide.”
Tracie has previously wondered why a gun was involved.
‘We come from England. We have no weapons. We have no guns in England,” she said in May. ‘Ayse knows nothing about weapons. But someone gave her a gun. Whether they told her to shoot herself, or whether they shot her…
‘According to the court verdict, it was suicide and there was gunpowder residue on her hand, so the Public Prosecution Service said Ayse committed suicide.
Ayse Rhiannon Vural’s body was discovered in her Istanbul apartment in September 2020, after she suffered a single gunshot wound to the head
‘But I wonder: was anyone there? Was there anyone telling her to do it? I do not understand.’
The murky case was apparently also investigated by Interpol, as the weapon used to kill Ayse was reportedly used in other cases under investigation by Turkish authorities.
Tracie added, “I think Interpol got involved because this gun was a hot gun.”
She explained that it had “been used in crimes before, not on Ayse, but someone had used that weapon and given it to her.”