Hakan Aysal, 41, was sentenced to life behind bars after being convicted of pushing his seven-months-pregnant wife, 32-year-old Semra Aysal, off a cliff while vacationing at a popular tourist attraction in southern Turkey in June 2018, New York Post reported.
Authorities believe Aysal lured his wife to the edge of the cliff by convincing her to take a selfie before pushing her off.
After his wife was killed by the fall off the 1,000-foot cliff, authorities say Aysal tried to cash in on a life insurance policy worth roughly $25,000 that he had taken out before the crime, but he was prevented from doing so by a police investigation.
Hakan Aysal, 41, was convicted of shoving his seven months pregnant wife Semra Aysal, 32, off a cliff in the popular beauty spot Butterfly Valley in Mugla, southern Turkey in June 2018.
He had lured his wife – who was afraid of heights – to the edge of the 304-meter cliff on the pretense of taking a selfie, but then pushed her over.
A court heard how he committed the horrific act, which took place in June 2018, amid a twisted plot where he took out life insurance on her behalf worth $25,000, which he quickly claimed after her death.
In an earlier hearing, Aysal, who initially denied the killing, was found guilty.
This week, the Fethiye High Criminal Court heard a last-minute insanity plea by the 41-year-old, but it was rejected.
He attempted to challenge the verdict, claiming he had been mentally disturbed, but medics from the 4th Specialisation Department of Forensic Medicine dismissed his claims.
“My daughter was filming the view with my phone and the Aysal couple came down the slope at that moment.
“We even joked, ‘Either this man will throw the woman off or the woman will throw the man.’ There was no interaction between them.”
Another witness said Aysal appeared unusually calm after the incident. Aysal claims he’s been into extreme sports like mountain climbing since 2014.
His social media account showed countless photos of his apparently high-flying lifestyle in which he traveled all around the country and stayed in top hotels abroad.
When quizzed about a clause in his wife’s insurance that made him the sole beneficiary of any payout in the event of death, he said: “I did not examine the policy closely. The banker arranged the paperwork. I just brought it to my wife to get it signed. I was not aware there was such an article.”
He denied being responsible for Semra’s death, telling the court at the time: “After taking a photo, my wife put the phone in her bag. Later, she asked me to give her the phone.
“I got up and then heard my wife scream behind me when I walked a few steps away to get the phone from her bag. When I turned back, she was not there. I did not push my wife.”
Femicide is a growing problem in Turkey, particularly after the country officially quit the Istanbul Convention in July last year.
According to the 2021 Annual Data Report by the ‘We Will Stop Femicide Platform’, 280 women were killed by men in 2021, while 217 women were found suspiciously dead.
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