A Child Vanished After a Lesson. Then Came the Ending No One Wanted, and the Betrayal No One Imagined

Eight-year-old Turkish girl Narin Güran disappeared after a Quran lesson on August 21, 2024. Nineteen days later, searchers made a horrifying discovery: her body was found in a sack wedged beneath rocks in a creek near her home city of Diyarbakır.

Investigators pieced together her last afternoon using cameras and household data. They narrowed the time of her killing to 3:18–3:21 p.m., and shockingly, it happened inside the family home while relatives were present, according to CNN Türk.

The same report noted a rise in household water use and extensive cleaning in the home right after that time.

Istanbul’s Forensic Medicine Institute determined that Narin died on August 21 from asphyxiation caused by pressure on her mouth, nose, and neck, reports Hürriyet Daily News and Turkish Minute.

Examiners said there were no signs of sharp, blunt, or gunshot injuries. It was not possible to determine if sexual assault occurred, according to BBC Türkçe.

The girl’s relatives soon came under investigation. A court jailed Narin’s mother, Yüksel Güran, and her brother, Enes Güran, pending trial on murder charges. Other relatives and associates were accused of destroying evidence, according to Reuters.

The child’s uncle, Salim Güran, who is also the village headman, had been arrested earlier. Evidence linked his vehicle to the case. DNA from his car matched DNA found on Narin’s clothing, according to Daily Sabah and Turkish Minute.

Salim Güran said he deleted messages with his niece to hide evidence that he had met sex workers, per BBC Türkçe.

A neighbor, Nevzat Bahtiyar, admitted to authorities that he moved Narin’s body to the creek in a sack after being offered money, but he denied killing her. He was later arrested, according to Duvar English and Bianet.

In court, Bahtiyar testified that Narin’s uncle told him the child was killed because she had seen him with her mother. Reports stressed this was testimony, not a judicial finding, according to VOA Türkçe and Turkish Minute.

Protests took place in several cities after the discovery of Narin’s body and during early hearings, according to Reuters and Duvar English.

The case went to Diyarbakır’s 8th High Criminal Court. On December 29, 2024, the court sentenced Narin’s mother, brother, and uncle to aggravated life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of a child acting together, according to Daily Sabah.

Neighbor Nevzat Bahtiyar received a sentence of four years and six months for destroying or hiding evidence after admitting he moved the body, per the reports.

The court did not identify exactly who applied the fatal pressure or establish a clear motive. A later review upheld the prison sentences, and the case moved to the Court of Cassation, according to Bianet.