Yiğit Balaban, who killed his aunt Safiye Vardar and injured his grandmother Sabriye Balaban in Bursa after they refused to give him money. The incident took place on September 14, 2023, around 4:30 pm in an apartment building in the Demirtaş Sakarya neighborhood of the Osmangazi district.
Yiğit Balaban asked for money from his aunt Safiye Vardar and grandmother Sabriye Balaban. When they refused, an argument broke out. During the argument, Yiğit Balaban attacked his aunt and grandmother with a knife he took from the kitchen. As the mother and daughter fell to the ground, Yiğit Balaban fled. Residents of the building called the 112 Emergency Call Center due to the noise and cries for help.
Police and medical teams were dispatched to the address after the report. It was determined that Safiye Vardar had died under the control of the healthcare professionals. Sabriye Balaban, whose throat was cut and in critical condition, was taken to Bursa City Hospital after initial treatment.
Yiğit Balaban, who was caught and detained by the police teams investigating the incident, was arrested in court after being sent to the courthouse following the completion of the legal procedures at the police station.
In the Bursa 1st Heavy Penal Court, the arrested defendant, who appeared before a judge for the first time facing an aggravated life imprisonment sentence for the crime of intentionally killing a superior, claimed that his aunt provoked him with harsh words and said that his intention was not to kill her.
Balaban defended himself by saying, “We argued in the kitchen. My aunt got angry and went to the bathroom. She started having a seizure due to her epilepsy. I had taken a bread knife from the kitchen. My aunt lost her balance suddenly because the floor was wet in the bathroom, and the knife in my hand stabbed her in the heart. When my grandmother tried to separate us, the knife hit her too.”
Sabriye Balaban, who claimed that her grandson did not deliberately kill her daughter, said, “I saw Yiğit with a knife in his hand on the day of the incident. I don’t remember the moment of the killing. My daughter Safiye Vardar suddenly came out of the bathroom and collapsed in the kitchen. That’s when I realized she had died. Yiğit didn’t want to kill anyone. They started arguing suddenly. I don’t remember how my daughter died. I am not complaining about my grandson.” The court decided to continue the defendant’s detention and adjourned the trial for the witnesses to be heard.
