Body parts of woman killed in Istanbul found; remains to be repatriated to Uzbekistan (video)

Earlier, reports emerged that an Uzbek woman had been killed in Istanbul, Türkiye, and that her decapitated body had been dumped in a garbage container. It has now been confirmed that additional body parts have been found and that arrangements are being made to repatriate her remains to Uzbekistan. This was reported by a QALAMPIR.UZ journalist currently in Istanbul.

According to Uzbekistan’s Consul General in Istanbul, Sherzod Abdunazarov, the investigation is ongoing.

“As soon as we learned of the incident, we went to the forensic medicine institute at around 6 p.m. yesterday. We also dispatched another staff member to the police station near the scene. There, we established direct communication with investigators and studied the situation. Many media outlets began spreading unverified information, including morally charged or speculative claims. These reports do not correspond to the facts,” he said.

Abdunazarov stated that the deceased had been living in Istanbul for seven years, was legally employed, and had two children.

“She had two children. Initially, for security reasons, the police did not disclose their details to us. Through relatives, we managed to obtain contact information and established communication with departments responsible for working with minors. Measures are being taken to ensure the children’s safety. We remain in constant contact with them and are informing their relatives in Uzbekistan,” the consul said.

According to him, the children are currently in the care of relatives.

“They are with family members. Close relatives have been informed. We notified the mother and brothers of Durdona Hakimova. She was permanently registered in Tashkent and had been residing legally in Istanbul on a temporary basis,” Abdunazarov said.

He added that the repatriation of the body will be carried out at the expense of the Government of Uzbekistan. All body parts have now been located and reunited.

According to local media, the crime took place on the evening of January 24 in the Duatepe neighborhood of Istanbul’s Sisli district. At around 7:40 p.m. local time, a man named Okan, who collects recyclables in the area, was searching through a garbage container near building No. 25 on Kuyulubag Street when he noticed a body wrapped in sheets and plastic bags. He immediately went to the police station to report what he had seen.

Okan said that while rummaging through the container, he noticed a black bag. When he tore it open, he saw blood and human remains and realized that the body was still warm. He then reported the incident to the Ferikoy police station. Police officers arrived at the scene and confirmed the presence of the body inside the container. Okan later returned to the scene together with police officers. An initial examination suggested that the body belonged to a woman and that the head had been severed.

During the investigation conducted by homicide detectives, testimony was obtained from another witness. The witness said that at around 7:00 p.m., he had come to the street to visit his mother and noticed two bearded men standing near the garbage container with a suitcase.

Surveillance camera footage was also obtained showing suspects allegedly carrying a suitcase containing the body and disposing of it. The footage shows two individuals approaching the container with a suitcase.

Detectives determined that the container holding the torso did not contain the head or legs. The suitcase believed to have been used to transport the body was later found in another garbage area on Bozkurt Street, several streets away.

In order to preserve the crime scene, the body was not immediately removed from the container, and a full assessment was not conducted on site. The area was cordoned off, and homicide and crime scene investigation units were notified, launching a large-scale investigation.

As a result of checks carried out by the Public Security Department, the woman’s identity was established through fingerprint analysis. She was identified as Durdona Hakimova, a citizen of Uzbekistan. An examination revealed that she was wearing a black jacket, a black long-sleeved sweatshirt, and black underwear, and that her body had been wrapped in a white sheet. Her identity was officially confirmed through fingerprints.

Based on camera footage and witness testimony, investigators determined that two bearded men wearing dark clothing arrived at the garbage container with a light-colored suitcase, later leaving the area on foot with the suitcase. The suspects were found to have discarded the suitcase on nearby Bozkurt Street.

Istanbul police detained two suspects at Istanbul Airport while they were allegedly attempting to flee to Georgia. Both suspects were identified as citizens of Uzbekistan. Within hours, officers from the Intelligence and Homicide units detained the suspects. One was identified as the direct perpetrator of the murder, while the other was found to have assisted.

The main suspect, identified as D.T., provided a confession.

“I met Durdona Hakimova on the day of the incident, and we started a relationship. We argued, and I stabbed her to death. Later, together with my friend, we dismembered the body. We placed the body parts into separate bags and put them into a suitcase. We then took a commercial taxi to the Sisli district and disposed of the body and its parts in different garbage containers,” he said.

Footage showing the moment the suspects were detained while attempting to flee the airport has also emerged. The driver of the taxi used by the suspects has likewise been detained. As a result, the number of individuals arrested in connection with the case has risen to three.