Year 1970... Bebek, on the shores of the Bosphorus, was one of the favorite districts of the city with its historical mansions, houses with gardens and quiet streets. In the settlements along the Bosphorus, there were houses with gardens as well as multi-storey buildings. The terrible incident that took place in a house on the neighborhood's Küçük Bebek Street would be on the agenda of Istanbul.
NEIGHBORS FOUND THE BODY
The date sheets showed February 3. Retired judge Mahmut Nedim Bey (57), who lives on Küçük Bebek Street in Bebek, and his wife Melahat Hanım (52), who works at the Animal Protection Association, had not been seen for two days. Concerned about the couple's situation, their neighbors leaned a ladder against the window on the first floor of their house and looked inside. The sight they encountered was terrifying. Mahmut Nedim Bey and Melahat Hanım were lying motionless in their house. Police teams were dispatched to the scene after the neighbors informed them.
THEY WERE HIT IN THE HEAD WITH HARD OBJECTS
Homicide detectives arrived at the scene and started an investigation at the house. In the first examination, it was determined that the retired judge and his wife were killed by repeatedly hitting their heads with hard objects. It was assessed that the murder was committed approximately two days ago. The police began to investigate all parts of the house to determine how the incident took place and how the attackers entered the house.
THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF FORCE IN THE HOUSE
The first detail that caught the attention of Homicide Detectives was that there were no signs of force on the doors and windows of the house. The doors were not broken, the windows were not forced. There was no obvious mess or sign of struggle in the house. Moreover, a teapot filled with tea was found in the house. Evaluating all these details together, the police considered the possibility that the attackers might not have entered the house by force. It was thought that the couple might have taken people they knew into the house.
WHY DID THE DOG NOT BARK?
While the investigation was continuing, an important detail attracted the attention of Homicide Detectives. There was a large, black-haired dog in the house of Mr. Mahmut Nedim and Ms. Melahat. According to neighbors, the dog was very aggressive towards people it did not know. He reacted to strangers approaching the house, and when he saw someone he did not know, he could attack them. Despite this, none of the neighbors heard the dog barking when the couple was killed.
IT WAS NOT AN ORDINARY EVENT
Homicide detectives evaluated this situation carefully. It was not an ordinary detail for a dog that attacked strangers to remain silent while its owners were being killed. Moreover, the fact that there was no force on the doors and windows of the house strengthened the possibility that the attackers were known to the couple. The police began to look for the answer to the question of why the dog was not barking. Could those who committed the murder be people the dog had seen before and was used to? Following this possibility, the investigation turned to the couple's close circle.
POLICE STARTED INVESTIGATING THE FAMILY
Homicide detectives investigated the family relationships of the murdered couple and who they had been meeting with in recent days. Mahmut Nedim Bey and Melahat Hanım had three sons and two daughters. Some of his children lived outside Istanbul.
Information about his daughters, who came to Istanbul from Ankara after the murder, was also sought. The police tried to find out the couple's relationships within the family, whether they had disagreements with anyone and who was entering and leaving the house. During the investigations, it was learned that Uğur, one of the couple's sons, had been having a disagreement with his father for a long time. Following this development, the police turned their attention to Uğur, who was studying at university in Ankara.
SUSPICIONS ARE DIRECTED ON HIS OWN SON
It was learned that 28-year-old Uğur, who was studying at Ankara University Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, had been on bad terms with his father for about eight months. The police began to investigate the reasons for the dispute between father and son.
According to the information obtained, Uğur had an argument with his father on the grounds that he was gambling. His father was disturbed by his son's gambling habit and stopped sending him money. It was learned that the duo had not met for a long time for this reason. Homicide detectives focused on this dispute. In addition, the assessment that some of the traces at the scene may have been left by a tall person increased suspicions against Uğur.
HE WAS DETAINED IN ANKARA
As a result of police investigations, Uğur was detained in Ankara. Istanbul Homicide Detectives also participated in the interrogation work. Uğur was asked about his relationships with his parents, where he had been in recent months, and whether he had been to Istanbul on the days of the murder.
HE SAID "I HAVE NO INTEREST"
Uğur claimed that he had nothing to do with the murder of his parents. He admitted that he and his father had an argument over gambling. However, he said that this dispute had nothing to do with the murder. He explained that he had not seen his father for about eight months, but that he did not have any reason to kill his parents. While the police were investigating Uğur's statements, they were also continuing their work at the crime scene in Istanbul. Because the Homicide Squad detectives continued to investigate the people in the couple's close circle because the dog was not barking and there was no disturbance at home.
POLICE RETURNED TO THE SCENE
Homicide detectives were not satisfied with the findings obtained in the initial investigations. Detailed work has begun again on the house. The couple's daily life, the work they did at home and who they had contact with in recent days were investigated. During these works, it was learned that Mahmut Nedim Bey and Melahat Hanım made various household items with plastic materials. The couple was mainly dealing with products such as nylon tablecloths and coffee tables made of plastic materials.
The police started to look for plastic materials in the house. It was investigated where these products were obtained, where they were produced and who worked in their production. Information obtained during this phase of the investigation would lead detectives to people other than family members.
PLASTIC CABLES WERE TRACED
While all suspicions focused on the couple's son Uğur, Homicide Detectives began investigating where the plastic cables related to the murder were purchased. In the meticulous study, the place where the plastic cables were taken was determined. The business owner said that he remembered Mahmut Nedim Bey and that there were two young people with him. He also informed that these two young people had previously worked in a workshop. This information played an important role in reaching the people who committed the murder.
THE IDENTITY OF THE WORKERS HAS BEEN DETERMINED
Following this information, the police reached important connections. During the investigation, it was learned that Mahmut Nedim Bey and Melahat Hanım produced nylon tablecloths and employed two young workers in this business. So, who were these two workers? Were they connected to the murder? Homicide detectives deepened their investigations to find answers to these questions. As a result of the studies, the identities of two workers were determined: 20-year-old Kenan and 18-year-old Mahir.
TWO YOUNG WORKERS CAUGHT ATTENTION
As the investigation deepened, new information began to emerge. According to the information obtained by the police, Kenan and Mahir previously worked in a workshop producing plastic goods. Ms. Melahat went to this workshop, dealt with various plastic products, and met two young people there. Ms. Melahat and Mr. Mahmut Nedim, who were planning to start producing plastic goods, offered the two young people to work with them. The youth would be provided with food and accommodation, as well as a higher weekly wage than they received in their previous jobs.
THE ANSWER TO A DOG'S NOT BARKING
Accepting the offer, Kenan and Mahir came to the couple's house and started working. The two young people had moved into the house about three days before the murder and started sleeping there. This information obtained was extremely important for the police. Because the two young people also met the couple's dog while staying at home. It now makes more sense that the dog that attacked strangers did not bark at the time of the murder.
THEY DISAPPEARED AFTER THE MURDER
Homicide detectives began investigating the whereabouts of Kenan and Mahir after the incident. During the studies, it was determined that the two young people disappeared after the murder. The police examined the suspects' backgrounds, places of employment and their connections to their hometowns. As a result of the research, it was learned that the two young people may have gone to Yozgat. Istanbul Homicide Detectives directed their work to Yozgat upon this information. Places where the suspects could hide were investigated. As a result of the follow-up, it was determined that Kenan and Mahir were in a village.
THEY WERE CAUGHT IN YOZGAT
Homicide detectives went to the village in Yozgat and caught the two suspects in the house where they were staying. Kenan and Mahir were brought to Istanbul and interrogated. With their capture, an important stage has been reached in the investigation that has been going on for about 10 days. While taking the suspects' statements, the police began to investigate how the murder was committed, why two people were killed and why they ran away after the incident. A short time later, during their interrogation, the two young people confessed that they had killed Mahmut Nedim Bey and Melahat Hanım.
BLOOD FREEZING EXPRESSION
In their statements, the two suspects explained in full detail how they met the couple and why and how the murder was committed. Mahir, one of the suspects, explained the process leading to the double murder as follows in his statement:
"Kenan and I did not know the old husband and wife at all. We were both working in a workshop that made plastic works. About a month ago, Ms. Melahat came to the workshop and bought a table. Meanwhile, she was interested in the items we made. She received detailed information and found our work profitable. Later, she came to the workshop many times and bought plastic cables. When we asked what she would do with them, she said, 'We make and sell them for coffee tables.' On the 26th of last month, she came to the workshop again and said, 'Guys, we are a workshop. "We will give you a higher salary than what you get here. Will you work with us? And you will stay with us." Kenan and I agreed with the offer.
HE HIT HIS HEAD WITH A CROWBAR
"We made coffee tables until the 1st of the month. In the meantime, we were staying at their house and meeting our needs. It was a Sunday. When Mahmut Nedim Bey said, 'Guys, we couldn't sell the coffee tables. We don't have money. We won't be able to pay you your weekly wage,' they started arguing with Kenan. Meanwhile, Ms. Melahat had gone to the market to buy food. At one point, the argument got very heated and my friend hit the old man on the head with a crowbar. Mahmut Nedim Bey fainted. Kenan shot him a few more times and killed the old man."
THE DOG WAS OUTSIDE
"We were afraid. We thought that Ms. Melahat might report us, so we started waiting for her. Soon there was a knock on the door. Kenan immediately hid behind the door. When I opened the door, he started hitting Ms. Melahat's head with a crowbar. In the meantime, I finished him off with the adze and hammer I had in my hand. Then we took the 70 lira from his bag. The dog was outside when the murder was committed. He went in while we were running away." The dog detail in Mahir's statement also clarified the suspicion that the police had at the beginning of the investigation. The two young people were known to the dog because they had been staying in the house for days. Additionally, according to Mahir's account, the dog was outside at the time of the murder and entered while the suspects were running away.
THEY EXPLAINED THE MURDER ON THE SITE
After Kenan and Mahir's confessions, Homicide Detectives took the two suspects to the scene. Here, the location of how the murder was committed was shown. The suspects showed the sections where the incident took place and explained how they attacked Mahmut Nedim Bey and Melahat Hanım. The iron crowbar, adze and hammer used in the murder were among the important evidence of the investigation.
Police compared the suspects' statements with findings at the scene. As a result of the work carried out, the investigation into the murder of two people was completed.
TWO SUSPECTS WERE ARRESTED
Kenan and Mahir, who confessed to the murder, were sent to the courthouse after their procedures at the police station. The two suspects, who were questioned in the court on duty, were arrested and sent to Sağmalcılar Prison. Thus, the investigation, which started with the discovery of two bodies in Bebek on February 3, 1970, was clarified as a result of approximately 10 days of work by Homicide Detectives.
THE POLICE DIRECTOR EXPLAINED HOW THE MURDER WAS SOLVED
Istanbul Provincial Police Chief Muzaffer Çağlar, who made a statement after the clarification of this double murder that shook the agenda of Türkiye, said that in the first stage of the investigation, they focused on the possibility that the murder could have been committed by a family member. However, he stated that the suspects were found as a result of the re-evaluation of the findings at the scene and the investigations carried out. Çağlar stated that it was investigated where the plastic cables, which played an important role in solving the murder, were taken from, and as a result of the follow-up, traces of two suspects were found. Çağlar stated that Istanbul Homicide Detectives were sent to Yozgat and that they were caught sleeping in the house where Kenan and Mahir were staying.
