The İstanbul 3rd High Criminal Court found the accused, Eda Göcet, guilty of premeditated torture and the murder of her own daughter, Hale Nur Göcet (3), and sentenced her to life in prison in a ruling issued yesterday. In her defense statement prior to the verdict, Göcet denied the accusations. The court nevertheless found her guilty of murdering her daughter and sentenced her to life in prison without parole. However, it later commuted the sentence to a regular life sentence, based on the suspect’s good behavior in the courtroom and her apparent remorse for her actions.In a separate case, Göcet is currently being tried on charges of attempting to kill her son, Furkan Göcet (6), by the same method.
Doctors initially diagnosed Eda Göcet with Munchausen by proxy syndrome (MBPS), a condition that involves the exaggeration or fabrication of illnesses or symptoms by a primary caretaker. It is considered to be one of the most harmful forms of child abuse, as the MBPS sufferer deliberately tries to make his or her own children sick. However, the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), in its examination of Göcet, ruled this diagnosis out, saying she was completely sane.
