By Evann Gastaldo 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Tag Archives: Sarai Sierra
Turkish Suspect: I Sniffed Glue, Hit NYC Mom in Head
By Evann Gastaldo 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Man suspected in NYC woman's death nabbed in Syria
Istanbul’s police chief says a man suspected of killing a New York City woman in Istanbul was caught in Syria in a joint operation by Syrian rebels and Turkish officials.
Huseyin Capkin contradicted a statement by the interior minister who had said the suspect was detained at the border as he entered Turkey.
Istanbul Governor Avni Mutlu says the suspect has confessed to killing Sarai Sierra, whose body was found in Istanbul on Feb. 2, days after she was reported missing during a solo vacation. Authorities say she died of a blow to the head.
A video reportedly recorded in Syria, and posted on Hurriyet newspaper’s website, shows the purported suspect saying he was under the influence of paint thinner during the incident.
Turkish news reports have described him as a homeless scrap paper collector.
Suspect Arrested in Death of N.Y. Mom
AP
Police detained a man Sunday wanted for the killing of Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother who was found dead in Istanbul last month.Parts of tragedy that remain a mystery
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at AOL
Turkey Detains Suspect in NY Mom's Murder
By Polly Davis Doig 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Turkey: Man detained over NYC woman's death
An official says Turkish police have detained a man wanted in connection with the killing of a New York City woman in Istanbul.
Sarai Sierra, the 33-year-old mother of two boys, was murdered while on a solo vacation in Turkey. Her body was found on Feb. 12 days after she was reported missing.
Gov. Celalettin Lekesiz says Sunday police caught the suspect — identified only as Ziya T. — in Hatay province, near Turkey‘s border with Syria.
Turkish news reports have identified the man as a scrap paper collector who used to hang around Istanbul’s ancient city walls, were Sierra’s body was found. He had been on the run since February.
Authorities said Sierra, who traveled to Turkey to explore her photography hobby, died of a fatal blow to the head.
Sarai Sierra Murder Suspect May Have Fled Turkey To Get To Iran According To Media Reports
By The Huffington Post News Editors
The homeless man wanted for the murder of a New York mom vacationing in Turkey might be making a run for Iran, according to reports published in Turkish media.
Police have chased the trail of used paper collector Ziya T. for 250 miles from Istanbul — where Sarai Sierra‘s bludgeoned remains were found on Feb. 2 — to Karabuk, where his family lives. Sources there allegedly told police that he revealed he was trying to get out of the country.
Newly discovered surveillance footage allegedly shows the suspect trying to sell Sierra’s coat in the gritty part of Istanbul where her body was found, the Daily Mail reported.
DNA Results in Murdered Mom Case
AP
Blood and skin found on Sarai Sierra, a New York mom found murdered in Turkey, allegedly matches the DNA of a suspect.Person suspected of brutal murder
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at AOL
Turkish police link DNA found on murdered American mother with homeless suspect
Turkish authorities have reportedly matched DNA found on a murdered American woman with a homeless man suspected of killing her while she was visiting Istanbul on a solo vacation.
Blood and skin found on 33-year-old Sarai Sierra, of Staten Island, N.Y., has been linked to a homeless man who is believed to be making his way toward the Syrian border, according to the Dogan News Agency in Turkey.
Authorities in Turkey are now hunting for the man, identified only as “Ziya T.” Blood found on Sierra’s T-shirt as well as skin taken from under her fingernails matches DNA from a pillow found at the home of the man’s family, according to the news agency.
Sierra, a freelance photographer, traveled to Istanbul alone on Jan. 7 and failed to return on a flight Jan. 21. Her body was found Feb. 2 near remnants of Istanbul’s ancient walls. Authorities said she died from a single blow to the head, though she had multiple injuries to her face and head. While there was no visible sign of a sexual assault, Sierra was found in only a shirt and underwear, according to reports. Her tablet computer and cellphone were missing.
The 46-year-old homeless suspect was known to frequent the area near where Sierra was found. According to the Turkish newspaper Vatan, the man was seen covered with soil and mud on Jan. 21, the day Sierra disappeared. When asked by a witness about what had happened, he replied, “I fell off the wall,” the newspaper reported.
Authorities have said it’s possible the man tried to first rob Sierra and then rape her, killing her when she resisted.
FoxNews.com’s Cristina Corbin contributed to this report.
Funeral held for New York mother killed in Turkey
A New Yorker killed while vacationing alone in Turkey is being remembered as a good-hearted and joyful person.
The funeral is Friday for Sarai Sierra, a mother of two. Friends and strangers alike paid their respects at her wake Thursday on Staten Island.
Her body was found Feb. 2 in Istanbul, 12 days after she disappeared. Police say she suffered a fatal blow to the head.
The 33-year-old went to Turkey to explore her hobby, photography. A friend who was supposed to join her canceled for financial reasons.
Turkish authorities and the FBI are investigating her death. No arrests have been made.
Suspect in Tourist's Murder: Turkish Homeless Man
By Kevin Spak 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Turkish police reportedly fail to find DNA match in murder of New York mom
The investigation into what happened to a Staten Island woman murdered in Turkey took another twist, as Turkish media reported that none of the DNA taken from 22 suspects matches the DNA found near her body.
A Turkish newspaper also reported that the family of 33-year-old Sarai Sierra knew she was cheating on her husband, the New York Post reported.
Turkish newspaper Per Vatan revealed that Sierra’s brother allegedly sent the mother of two a Facebook message saying, “If you are going to cheat on him, why don’t you just get out of his life,” the Post reported.
The message was allegedly sent before she went missing. She was found beaten to death in a seedy area of Istanbul.
The newspaper report comes after a man being questioned by Turkish authorities in the murder of Sierra that he had a sexual relationship with her.
The Turkish man, identified only as “Taylan,” gave DNA and sperm samples to police, according to Vatan. The man allegedly told investigators he had a consensual sexual relationship with Sierra before she was last seen on Jan. 21, according to the paper.
Sierra’s 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.”
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.”
The Realities Women Face When Traveling Alone, And How To Stay Safe
By Elisa Doucette, Contributor
My father fields questions and concerns about my safety while traveling internationally on a near-daily basis. “Where is your daughter living again?” “She’s been in the south of Bali for a couple months.” “Aren’t you worried about her?” “Why? Oh, you mean the earthquake? No, she’s fine, it was in a different part of the country.” “I mean…the…well…you know…” “No, I don’t know.” “Aren’t there…a lot of…you know…Muslims out there?” My father, being the loving and pacifistic man that he is, will not squeeze the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh. My sister, however, has you covered for that reaction. The Most Wonderful Problem For Solo Female Travelers To Have It is the most wonderful of irritations and problems to have. That people care enough about my life and well-being and happiness (and the well-being and happiness of my family) to voice uncomfortable questions and concerns in an effort to understand why I would pack up my hiking bag and hop flights all over the world. I remind myself of this every time I want to pinch the bridge of my nose and let out an exasperated sigh. I remind myself of it now, as I see the furor unfolding (more like unleashing) over the attack on and death of Sarai Sierra, a 33-year old American woman traveling in Turkey. As NBC News reported on the “New York City Mom Murdered On Vacation In Turkey,” their comment section was immediately flooded by people who care enough about a stranger to voice uncomfortable questions and concerns in an effort to understand why terrible things like this happen in our world. “A single woman traveling alone is risky. In a foreign country, it is downright foolish.” “A woman has no business traveling alone.” “No way I would even let my beautiful wife out the door to travel to any country alone.” Immediately, the war of words began. A dicey tango of ignorance, stereotypes, unfounded comments, assumed misogyny, supposed “radical feminism”, hurt feelings, angry feelings, sad feelings, confused feelings, and a whole lot of other feelings. Women who travel solo fought back as they felt their community come under fire and others fueled the fire as they continued the outpouring of uncomfortable questions and concerns. This is all emotional and uncomfortable because of a simple fact that has nothing to do with women who travel. It is emotional and uncomfortable because the story of Sarai Sierra is one that happens far too often, both at home and in foreign unknown places. Solo Women’s Safety Abroad And At Home Before I got my first passport at the age of thirty-one and set off to learn about and explore Bali, Indonesia for four-months in 2011, I had never lived more than two-hours from my hometown, a suburb just outside of Portland, Maine. Even though television shows like ‘Murder She Wrote’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’ would have you believe that Maine is a hotbed of mystery and murder, it is actually …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Man Claims He Had Liaison With Murdered Tourist
By Evann Gastaldo 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Body of NYC woman being returned home
Turkey‘s state-run agency says the body of a New York City woman killed while on a solo vacation in Turkey is being returned home.
The Anadolu Agency says a casket carrying the remains of Sarai Sierra was loaded onto a New York-bound plane on Thursday.
The agency said Turkish Airlines is transporting the body for free.
The 33-year-old mother of two was found dead 12 days after she went missing in Istanbul. Police said she was killed by a blow to the head and are still trying to find her attacker or attackers.
Her family said Sierra was on her first trip abroad pursuing a newfound hobby of photography.
Body of New York mom murdered in Turkey being returned home
The body of a New York City woman killed while on vacation in Turkey is reportedly being returned home.
The Anadolu Agency, Turkey‘s state-run news outlet, said a casket carrying the remains of Sarai Sierra, 33, was being loaded onto a New York-bound plane on Thursday. Turkish Airlines is transporting the body for free, the agency said.
Sierra, a mother of two from Staten Island, was found dead 12 days after she disappeared in Istanbul. Police said she was killed by a blow to the head and are still trying to find her attacker or attackers. Sierra was on her first trip abroad pursuing a newfound hobby of photography, relatives said.
On Wednesday, a man being questioned by Turkish authorities reportedly told investigators he had a sexual relationship with Sierra. The Turkish man, identified only as “Taylan,” gave DNA and sperm samples to police, the Turkish daily Vatan reported. The man told investigators he had a consensual sexual relationship with Sierra before she was last seen on Jan. 21.
But Sierra’s best friend, Magdalena Rodriguez, told FoxNews.com she doubted the man’s claim.
“We know Sarai,” said Rodriguez, who originally planned to accompany Sierra on her vacation to Istanbul. “We know she didn’t run off with anybody. She would have told me. She would have said something.”
Rodriguez said she was in constant contact with Sierra throughout her trip.
“I don’t believe what he [Taylan] says for one second,” she said. “Sarai wouldn’t willingly and knowingly involve herself with people who did not have her best interest at heart.”
Turkish authorities have said 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. 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 gold 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 …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Man held in Turkey claims he had affair with murdered New York woman
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
New York mother reportedly met with 'criminal element' in Turkey
FBI agents probing the murder of a Staten Island mom in Turkey said they don’t believe she was there just to take pictures — and said she hung out with a “criminal element” during the solo trip abroad.
“There are a lot of open questions that need to be answered,” a source familiar with the ongoing case told The Post.
Mother of two Sarai Sierra, 33, was found dead from a ferocious blow to the skull in a seedy area of Istanbul last Saturday after failing to show up for a Jan. 21 flight home to New York.
“The first people she met up with were a criminal element,” the source said of Sierra, who flew to Turkey Jan. 7, then to Amsterdam on Jan. 15 and Munich on Jan. 16 before heading back to Istanbul Jan. 19.
The FBI is in Turkey investigating the case, and is looking into a possible connection to drug trafficking — among other lines of inquiry, a source said.
“There are some witness reports that she was seen with sketchy characters,” said the source, adding that agents are following up those leads to determine if they’re accurate.
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Mystery lingers after discovery of New York woman's body in Turkey
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
Husband of NYC woman found dead: Haven't told kids
The husband of a New York City woman found dead in Turkey says he hasn’t had the strength to tell his children their mother is gone.
Steven Sierra spoke by telephone from Istanbul Monday on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America.” He called Sarai Sierra an amazing and caring person and a loving mother to their 9- and 11-year-old sons.
She was on a solo vacation in Istanbul when she disappeared Jan. 21. Her body was found 12 days later near the remnants of the city’s ancient walls. Police say she had suffered a fatal blow to the head.
Her husband traveled there last week to help in the search. He intends to accompany her body back to New York.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News