The dead bodies of four girls -- Hamide, Ayşe, Emine and Asiye Karaağaç -- were found on Oct. 3 under Hasancıklı Bridge, which spans Ceyhan River. The initial autopsies performed on their bodies at Kahramanmaraş State Hospital showed that they most likely fell and drowned in the river since there were no traces of abuse on their bodies. However, the recent testimony of a shepherd who claimed that he had seen the girls just before their deaths has revealed another possibility.
The shepherd, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he had seen the girls by the river and that he had also seen a group of men waiting in a nearby graveyard at the same time. Observing that the girls disappeared in a very short time, he also noticed that the men, who he thinks may have been involve in the incident, were gone at the same time, implying that they might have killed the girls. As officials said there was no burial ceremony in the graveyard at the time, police have launched an investigation into who the men in the graveyard were. The daily claimed that the girls may have been victims of honor killings, which are prevalent in Turkey's southeastern region.
