A Turkish man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of throwing his pregnant wife off a cliff to collect her life insurance policy.
Hakan Aysal, 41, was sentenced to life behind bars after being convicted of pushing his seven-months-pregnant wife, 32-year-old Semra Aysal, off a cliff while vacationing at a popular tourist attraction in southern Turkey in June 2018, New York Post reported.
Authorities believe Aysal lured his wife to the edge of the cliff by convincing her to take a selfie before pushing her off.
After his wife was killed by the fall off the 1,000-foot cliff, authorities say Aysal tried to cash in on a life insurance policy worth roughly $25,000 that he had taken out before the crime, but he was prevented from doing so by a police investigation.
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Aysal initially claimed he was not guilty, but he entered a last-minute insanity plea that was heard by the Fethiye High Criminal Court but ultimately rejected.
Witnesses to the killing, and family members of the couple said that Aysal’s calm demeanor following the incident triggered suspicions the death was intentional.
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“When we went to the Forensic Medicine Institute to get the body, Hakan was sitting in the car,” Naim Yolcu, the victim’s older brother, said in court. “My family and I were destroyed, but Hakan did not even appear sad.”
“My sister was always against taking out loans,” Yolcu added. “However, after she died, we learned she had loans taken out by Hakan on behalf of my sister. “
Aysal will have to serve thirty years in prison before being eligible to be considered for release.
Femicide has become an incresingly growing problem in Turkey, the New York Post reported, and the Stockholm Center for Freedom said this year that 246 women have been murdered in Turkey in 2022.
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