Manisa infant murder solved after 16 years via heel‑blood data

In April 2010 a newborn girl was found dead in a trash container in Manisa’s Turgut Özal neighbourhood. The infant had suffered head and body trauma, and the case remained unsolved for 16 years. In 2026 the Justice Ministry’s Unsolved Crimes Research Department re‑examined the file and cross‑checked the Health Ministry’s heel‑blood database. The match identified the baby’s mother as Beren Dikbaş, who had given birth in İzmir and was not recorded in the civil registry.

Justice Minister Akın Gürmek announced that the heel‑blood cross‑checking “was the breaking point” in the investigation. Both Dikbaş and her sister (or close relative) Gurbet Çınar were taken into custody; Dikbaş was detained, while the sister was released under judicial control. Prosecutors have opened proceedings for “altsoyu kasten öldürme” (premeditated killing of a child). Dikbaş later said, “I didn’t kill the baby. They made false news.” The authorities praised the coordinated work of the Justice, Interior and Health ministries and the Manisa prosecutor’s office in solving the cold case.