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Istanbul police say U.S. tourist was murdered: report

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ISTANBUL | Sun Feb 3, 2013 2:51pm EST

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An American tourist whose body was found in the ruins of Istanbul's old city wall was murdered by a blow to the head, the city's police chief was quoted as saying on Sunday.

The husband of Sarai Sierra, 33, from New York, identified her body late on Saturday at an Istanbul morgue, state broadcaster TRT reported. She had been travelling alone when she was reported missing on January 21.

"It's certain she was killed by a blow to the head," police chief Huseyin Capkin was quoted as saying by CNN Turk television.

Police are investigating the possibility that Sierra was killed elsewhere and her body moved to Sarayburnu, the area where she was found. Officers are questioning 11 people, media reports said.

(Writing by Seltem Iyigun; Editing by Pravin Char)
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Comments (2)
ofilha wrote:
A tragedy that needed not to have occurred. If you are a first time traveler you should not go alone, you must also use caution. Now, a family mourns their loss and she misses out on her children’s future, because she wanted an adventure.

Feb 03, 2013 7:37am EST  --  Report as abuse
Reuters1945 wrote:
In most parts of the world, even today, a young, attractive female tourist traveling alone is an invitation to danger. The tell-tale, expensive camera, of course is always the red flag that catches the eye and attention of a wide assortment of less than wholesome characters.

It is difficult to understand that this was not obvious to this woman’s husband. Perhaps he did attempt to prevent her from making the trip and was unsuccessful.

The world is full of head strong human beings who refuse to be intimidated by the thoughts of risk and danger.

And such individuals frequently pay a very dear price for such bravura.

It happened to a woman I knew many years ago whilst traveling alone in a remote area in France. The circumstances can revolve around such a mundane example as simple theft, to the still highly prevalent existence of White slavery kidnappings that occur throughout the world.

In this case, considering the country involved, all the high risk options were clearly present.

This is indeed a terrible tragedy, not only for the unfortunate victim, but also for those she leaves behind who will be doomed to live with this tragedy for the remainder of their lives.

Indeed it was a tragedy waiting to happen and truly beyond sad.

Perhaps others will learn something from this story.

Feb 03, 2013 5:22pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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