Samurai sword slaughter: Horrifying moment female architect is hacked to death in the street in Istanbul by a stranger who ‘wanted to kill a woman’
- Basak Cengiz, 27, was walking down a street in Istanbul when she was murdered
- Architect was hacked to death with samurai sword by a man who ‘wanted to kill’
- Police identified suspect as Can Goktug Boz, recovered the weapon from his flat
- Described as ‘mentally unstable’ and told police he had been ‘influenced by film’
This is the horrifying moment a female architect was hacked to death in the street in Istanbul by a stranger who ‘wanted to kill a woman’.
Footage shows Basak Cengiz, 27, walking down a road in Istanbul closely followed by a man carrying a concealed samurai sword.
The suspect, identified by police as Can Goktug Boz, can be seen grabbing Cengiz from behind and making a stabbing motion as she collapses.
He appears to inflict several wounds on the 27-year-old as she tries to roll away before he flees the scene as passing cars stop to help.
Boz tailed Cengiz on November 9 after seeing her walk past his apartment block on her way home from work several times, police said.
He told police his actions were ‘influenced by films he watched’ and was described by officers as ‘mentally unstable’.
This is the horrifying moment female architect Basak Cengiz, 27, was hacked to death in the street in Istanbul but a stranger who ‘wanted to kill a woman’
The suspect appears to inflict several wounds on the 27-year-old as she tries to roll away before he flees the scene as passing cars stop to help
The suspect, identified by police as Can Goktug Boz, can be seen grabbing Cengiz from behind and making a stabbing motion as she collapses
The suspect, identified by police as Can Goktug Boz, (not pictured) tailed Basak Cengiz, 27, (right) on November 9 after seeing her walk past his apartment block on her way home from work several times, police said
Cengiz, who was engaged and soon due to be married, was rushed to a private hospital in Atasehir district of Istanbul in a critical condition but was later declared dead.
The 27-year-old usually lives in the Turkish capital Ankara but was visiting Istanbul for a work assignment. She did not know the suspect.
On the day of the incident, she was due to catch a work shuttle to a hotel she was staying at with her colleagues but had decided to walk back after staying late at the office.
The suspect, police said, tailed Cengiz before the fatal attack on November 9 after seeing her walk past his apartment block on her way home from work several times
The samurai sword can be seen glinting in the streetlights in the grainy footage moments before the suspect flees the scene
Footage shows the suspect (centre) walk away from the scene as passing cars and bystanders rush to help the victim
Police arrested Boz in his apartment in Atasehir district of Istanbul after reviewing footage from the apartment block’s security cameras.
Officers from the Atasehir Public Security Bureau raided the residence and arrested the suspect.
Police recovered the samurai sword at the address where they also found phrases such as ‘stab them in the stomach’, ‘set a trap’, and ‘kill those who argue’ written on the walls.
Police recovered the samurai sword (pictured) at the address where they also found phrases such as ‘stab them in the stomach’, ‘set a trap’, and ‘kill those who argue’ written on the walls
Cengiz, (pictured with her fiancee) who was engaged and soon due to be married, was rushed to a private hospital in Atasehir district of Istanbul in a critical condition but was later declared dead
Boz was later taken to the Gayrettepe Public Security Branch for questioning, where he was reported as being ‘mentally unstable’.
During his first interrogation, officers reportedly asked him: ‘Why did you commit this murder?’ To which he reportedly replied: ‘I was influenced by the films I watched’.
The suspect remains in custody as the investigation continues.