Istanbul Jane Doe (2001)

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Istanbul Jane Doe
Discovered	12 March 2001
Unidentified for	23 years
Sex	Female
Location	Istanbul, Turkey
Age	20-22
Body condition	Traumatic injuries
Postmortem interval	Days
Cause of death	Homicide

Istanbul Jane Doe was a young woman whose leg was discovered in a bag near the Unkapanı district of Istanbul, Turkey. Her leg is stated to have been expertly severed at the knee and was found 50 meters away from another bag containing the leg of a male victim.

She is suspected to be a victim of a serial killer.

Case

Between 2000 and 2001 the severed legs of 8 people would be found in areas in and around Istanbul, Turkey, with only one victim being identified. Almost all of the victims were female, save for two male victims. It was often noted that the perpetrator had clean surgical precision when severing the legs from the bodies of their victims and was able to lure away a victim in an area that experienced high traffic during the day. Additionally, it is suspected that most of the killer's victims were sex workers. As of 2021, the statute of limitations on the case has run out and Turkish police have shelved the case indefinitely.

Despite the expiration of the statute of limitations, it has recently been suspected that Mustafa Murat Ayhan, a man who brutally murdered and dismembered a college student before discarding her remains in different areas, is responsible for the murders from 2000 & 2001. Though, it is unlikely Ayhan will ever be questioned about the case.

Sources

• Hürriyet (Turkish)
• Ekşi Şeyler (Turkish)
• Sabah (Turkish)