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Man held in Turkey claims he had affair with murdered New York woman

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A man being questioned by Turkish authorities in the murder of a New York tourist found beaten to death in Istanbul has reportedly told authorities there he had a sexual relationship with the woman.

The Turkish man, identified only as “Taylan,” gave DNA and sperm samples to police investigating the death of 33-year-old Sarai Sierra, a mother of two found beaten beyond recognition near ancient walls in Istanbul, the Turkish daily Vatan reported Wednesday. The man told investigators he had a consensual sexual relationship with Sierra before she was last seen on Jan. 21, according to the newspaper.

But Sierra’s best friend, Magdalena Rodriguez, told FoxNews.com she doesn’t believe the man’s claim.

“We know Sarai. We know she didn’t run off with anybody,” said Rodriguez, who originally planned to accompany Sierra on her solo vacation to Istanbul.

“She would have told me. She would have said something,” said Rodriguez, who claims she was in constant contact with Sierra during the trip.

“I don’t believe what he [Taylan] says for one second,” she said, adding, “Sarai wouldn’t willingly and knowingly involve herself with people who did not have her best interest at heart.”

Sierra, a freelance photographer from Staten Island, N.Y., traveled to Istanbul Jan. 7 and failed to return on a flight Jan. 21. Her body was found Saturday near remnants of the city’s ancient walls. Turkish police said there appeared to be no sign of a sexual assault, though the New York Daily News reported the woman was found in only a shirt and underwear. Sierra’s jewelry was still on her, but her tablet computer and U.S. cellphone are missing.

A source familiar with the investigation told FoxNews.com that Sierra had contacted “amateur tour guides” online in advance of her trip. Taylan was among the individuals whom she had communicated with, and the two were known to have met on Jan. 13, according to multiple Turkish media accounts. The pair had planned to meet by the Galata Tower on Jan. 21 — the day she was last seen — but Taylan reportedly told investigators that Sierra never showed up.

Rodriguez claims she and the family were aware of Sierra’s online communications. “We knew about the tour guides … We knew she planned to meet them,” she said, adding, “She’s not one to just meet a random person and then wander away with them.”

New York Rep. Michael Grimm, a former FBI agent, said Turkish police still have hours of video footage to review as they piece together Sierra’s last movements. A special unit of Turkish police set up to find Sierra has an image of her at Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul’s Golden Horn waterway and where she went on her last day to take photos. An FBI official confirmed to FoxNews.com that the agency is also involved and has been since the early stages of the investigation.

During her trip, Sierra made two pre-planned excursions to Munich and Amsterdam, and then returned to Istanbul. Authorities are probing Sierra’s trips to Munich and Amsterdam as part of …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Mystery lingers after discovery of New York woman's body in Turkey

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The discovery of a New York woman’s body in Turkey has done little to solve the mystery surrounding her disappearance and death, say sources involved in the international investigation.

Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two from Staten Island, N.Y., traveled to Istanbul on a solo vacation Jan. 7 and failed to return on a flight Jan. 21. Her body was found Saturday near remnants of the city’s ancient walls. But many of the questions that surfaced during the search for Sierra — such as whom she contacted, why she took two side trips and where she stayed — remain unanswered.

Turkish authorities say Sierra died from a single blow to the head. A local funeral company on Tuesday told the Hürriyet Daily News, an English-language newspaper in Turkey, that she had multiple injuries to her head and face.

“There are serious blows, particularly to her head and face,” Manuel Manukyan, owner of the Nevzat funeral company, told the newspaper. Manukyan is working with the U.S. Consulate and Sierra’s family to bring her remains back to the U.S.

Prosecutors in Istanbul got a court order Monday for authorities to take blood and DNA samples from 21 people already questioned in the death, according to Turkish state media.

Sierra, a freelance photographer, was found in the clothes she was last seen wearing the day she disappeared, authorities said, noting that there was no sign of a sexual assault. Sierra’s jewelry was still on her, but her tablet computer and U.S. cellphone were missing.

Samples reportedly taken from under her fingernails suggest she may have tried to fight off her attacker. A blanket was also found near the body, leading investigators to question whether she was killed in another location and then placed near the ancient walls, which are close to a highway.

Turkish authorities finished an autopsy Monday on Sierra and gave DNA samples from it to a crime lab, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. After that, Istanbul prosecutors got the court order but did not identify the possible suspects, the agency reported.

A source familiar with the investigation told FoxNews.com that it is believed Sierra contacted “amateur tour guides” online to show her around popular sites in the city. Sierra’s trip also included pre-planned excursions to Amsterdam and Munich. Authorities, however, have said little about those trips, which, combined with her expenses in Turkey, are said to have cost more than $10,000, according to the Hürriyet Daily News.

New York Rep. Michael Grimm, a former FBI agent, said Turkish police still have hours of video footage to review as they piece together Sierra’s last movements. A special unit of Turkish police set up to find Sierra has an image of her at Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul’s Golden Horn waterway and where she went on her last day to take photos. The FBI is also significantly involved in the investigation, Grimm said.

Meanwhile, her family was working out how to return her body to the U.S.

“Our No. 1 priority right now is bringing Sarai home,” Grimm said during a press conference Monday with Sierra’s family in Staten Island.

Sierra’s husband, Steven, is in Istanbul, where he traveled last week to help in the search. He intends to accompany her body back to New York, but the family is still determining how to fund the transport. Their church and friends are working to raise money to help defray the costs.

Sierra made her first trip overseas alone after her childhood friend, Magdalena Rodriguez, backed out. At Monday’s news conference in New York, Rodriguez fought back tears as she said she wished she had not changed her plans.

“I wasn’t working at the time and I didn’t have the money to go,” she explained.

Sierra’s two sons, ages 9 and 11, have not yet been told of their mother’s death, according to family members.

“We’re going to talk about that when he gets back,” the woman’s mother, Betzaida Jimenez told reporters Monday.

She recalled hugging her daughter before she departed and praying together for a safe journey.

“Just the thought that I’ll never be able to hug her again,” she said, pausing to compose herself. “We just didn’t think a tragedy like this was going to happen.”

FoxNews.com’s Cristina Corbin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Turkish police seeking DNA, blood from 21 suspects in death of NY mom

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Prosecutors in Istanbul got a court order Monday for authorities to take blood and DNA samples from 21 people already questioned in the death of a New York city woman, state media reported.

Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, went missing Jan. 21 while on a solo vacation in Istanbul. Her body was found 12 days later, near the remnants of the city’s ancient walls. Police said she had suffered a fatal blow to the head.

Turkish authorities finished an autopsy Monday on Sierra and gave DNA samples from it to a crime lab for testing, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

After that, Istanbul prosecutors got the court order but did not identify the possible suspects, the agency reported.

Police on Monday were still scouring the area where the body was found for clues with the help of sniffer dogs, it said.

Turkish police had set up a special unit to find Sierra and her husband, Steven, traveled to Istanbul last week to help in the search. Steven Sierra talked to police again on Monday, this time as a plaintiff in the case, Anadolu said.

The Milliyet newspaper said the forensic lab will examine samples from Sierra’s fingernails as well as hair and other samples from a blanket found near her body. It said some nail scrapings suggest she may have tried to fight off her attacker or attackers.

Sierra, whose children are 9 and 11, had left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made side trips to Amsterdam, Netherlands and Munich, Germany. She was to have traveled with a friend, but the friend cancelled.

Sierra was in regular contact with friends and relatives during her vacation and had told them on Jan. 21 — the day she was due to board her plane back home — that she was going to visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul’s Golden Horn waterway, to take photos. She never checked into her flight.

In New York, Sierra’s mother, Betsy Jimenez, said her two grandsons did not know what had happened to their mother.

“Their father is going to talk to them when he comes back and we’ll all be there to support him,” she told NBC’s Today show on Monday

Jimenez said it was Sierra’s first overseas visit.

“She wanted to go take pictures of the history of the place … and she was interested in taking pictures of the bridges. She was fascinated with the bridges,” Jimenez said.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News