Police say a woman who many believed accidentally fell during a marriage proposal may have, in fact, met a grislier end. Nizamettin Gursu reportedly proposed to Yesim Demir on July 6 in Çanakkale, Turkey. Shortly after asking Demir to marry him, she allegedly fell to her death more than 100 feet off of a cliff. At the time of the tragic fall, Gursu claimed it was an accident, but new evidence suggests it was intentional.
Five months after her untimely death, Gursu is in jail, suspected of killing the woman he supposedly loved. The family claims, however, that the relationship was not headed for a fairy tale ending.
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Initially, the death appeared to be a tragic accident.
Demir, 39, and Gursu, 42, were together on a scenic cliffside on Polente Cape, where he reportedly proposed, the New York Post reported in July 2023. Gursu claimed that he went back to the couple's vacation cabin to get a few things to celebrate their new engagement and heard a scream. When he returned to the engagement scene, Demir was supposedly gone.
Gursu chose the spot because it was 'romantic.'
Gursu told local media the place fit into his idea of a perfect proposal, but when he realized Demir fell, he called emergency personnel, the Post reported in July. At first, when the medical team arrived, she was alive but soon died from her injuries.
The area was reportedly restricted in the days following Demir's death as investigators surveyed the scene.
In the months following her death, police feared it was not an accident.
In a December 2023 report, the Post explained that during the investigation, the ring Gursu claimed to have given Demir during the proposal was in his pocket. Other evidence, such as broken glass at the scene, led police to believe a struggle occurred near the area where Demir allegedly fell.
Demir's family filed a complaint with police, as they suspected something was wrong.
Demir's family told police that she would not have accepted a proposal from Gursu and that she had plans to end their relationship, per the Post. She also reportedly suffered from panic attacks, and it was unlikely she would have wanted to stand near the edge of a cliff. The family's complaint reportedly helped lead to Guru's arrest.
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The suspected killer now awaits a trial.
Police arrested Gursu on a "deliberate homicide" charge, according to the Daily Mail. He is in a Turkish jail awaiting trial.
The Daily Mail reported that femicide, when a man kills a woman, is an increasing problem in Turkey. According to data from the Monument Counter, which tracks women killed by violence, 393 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2022, and 376 femicides have occurred this year.
