The Bakırköy 13th Court of Serious Crimes in Turkey set free Celal Eripek, 34, this week. Eripek was found guilty of beating his wife, who was receiving cancer treatments at the time, to death in May 2014. He only served one year.
They reversed the four-year prison sentence to three years and four months due to his “good behavior” in court. They also concluded he could leave because he “served one year in prison while the trial was continuing.”
On May 2, 2014, Eripek beat his 37-year-old wife of 17 years, who also suffered from heart disease, to death with a wooden bat because she did not iron his clothes.
“My father asked my mother if the ironing was done,” testified their 15-year-old son Orhan. “My mother said, ‘I’m too tired. I cannot.’ He slapped Mom twice, punched her in the back, and kicked her in the leg three times.”
He also beat Orhan and their 16-year-old daughter Zehra.
Züleyha Gülüm, the family’s lawyer, argued the court should charge Eripek with intentional murder since “It was common knowledge that beating a person with a heart disease could trigger a heart attack.”
Eripek admitted he beat his wife, but insisted she “hit her own head against the wall.”
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