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Authorities continue to examine the death of singer Gullu, a well-known arabesk and fantasy music artist.
She passed away after a sudden fall from the sixth-floor window of her home in Yalova’s Cinarcik district on Sept. 26, which shook audiences across Türkiye.
Police detained her daughter, Tugyan Ulkem Gulter, her friend Sultan Nur Ulu, and three others on suspicion of intentional killing. Their statements and new technical findings now shape a case that no longer looks like an accident.
Yalova prosecutors ordered surveillance after the two women gave three different and conflicting statements.
Officers later detained daughter Gulter and her friend Ulu in Istanbul’s Buyukcekmece district.
Recently surfaced security footage shows the pair leaving an apartment with suitcases and sources say the group planned to reach Georgia or France by sea or in a truck trailer to avoid checks, as reported by Milliyet.
Police also detained the driver who transported them from Yalova, the apartment owner, and Ulu’s father Arif Ulu, who has a criminal record and is under supervised release.
Yalova Chief Prosecutor Duygu Bayar Oksuz said the team worked carefully to gather concrete evidence.
She stressed that the file is under a strict confidentiality order and warned that no party has access to the audio analysis or to full expert reports of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye's (TUBITAK).
“No one has accessed any report. We are keeping it confidential. No one is telling the truth yet,” she told reporters. She added that prosecutors did not accept the fall as an accident or suicide from the start and treated it as suspicious, as reported by Anadolu.
Despite the confidentiality, accounts from a witness and earlier media reporting raised new questions about what happened inside the home that night.
A witness who said she is close to Sultan gave a detailed statement about events in the home.
She said Tugyan asked Sultan to pull a plug in the living room, and that Sultan later learned the plug belonged to the room’s security camera, as reported by Milliyet.
The witness said Gullu went to the bathroom shortly before the incident. She added that Tugyan suggested moving to another room and told her to unplug the cable, which she did without knowing it powered the camera.
Did Gullu get pushed out the window by her daughter?
The witness who unplugged the camera also described a confrontation. According to her, Tugyan told her mother, “There is a butterfly at the window, can you take it?”
The witness said Gullu answered in frustration, “I am fed up with you. I will leave you.” She claimed Tugyan then replied, “Is that so? Then see you, bye bye,” before pushing her mother. These remain allegations unless prosecutors confirm them.
Media reports also state that TUBITAK continues to examine audio from the home’s camera system. Some outlets claimed the recording captured, “I will throw you now,” and later, “See you, bye bye.” However, the chief prosecutor has said any public claims about such a report are not official due to the secrecy order.
Independent expert work strengthened concerns about external force. Teams of physics engineers, criminal specialists, and 3D modeling experts examined body angle, fall direction, impact points, and acceleration values.
Forensic findings from the early stage of the case also came under renewed scrutiny. The initial Forensic Medicine report stated that Gullu had a blood alcohol level of 3.53 promille at the time of death.
The report found no drugs or toxic substances in her body and assessed the possibility of an accidental fall as strong. However, later expert modelling contradicted this view by pointing to indicators of external force, which shifted the investigation toward a possible homicide, as reported by Euronews.
Two of Gullu’s long-time acquaintances spoke on television about her final months.
Her 42-year-old friend Cigdem Turan said conflicts with her daughter had escalated. She said that three or four days before her death, Gullu told her, “I need you. They will kill me.”
Turan described financial disputes, relationship problems, and stress in the household. She said she did not believe the early claim that the death was an accident.
Former assistant Bedriye Karabulut said she saw tense moments between mother and daughter. She claimed earlier disagreements had sometimes turned physical. She also said she did not accept the first online statements about the death.
Furthermore, she asserted that Gullu looked in control of herself in the home footage she viewed.
“I saw Gullu many times when she was heavily intoxicated and she had a strong tolerance. In the footage from that night, she does not look affected by alcohol and in my view, she is fully in control,” said Karabulut.
Lawyer Rahmi Celik disputes the claim that Tugyan Gulter tried to flee abroad.
He says Gulter faced financial hardship and messaged others that she would return to Yalova on the day of detention.
He cited messages to Gullu’s former assistant that read, “I will take the suitcases and return to Yalova,” and messages from the apartment owner saying, “Tugyan will take her suitcases and return to Cinarcik.”
Celik says building exit footage shows only a move between homes, not an escape.
Lawyer Merve Ucanok says her clients suffered public pressure and threats. She says Gulter could not move around freely in Cinarcik and Yalova and that she advised her to stay in Buyukcekmece for safety.
Ucanok says she has filed multiple criminal complaints about misleading media reports and online attacks that violated the presumption of innocence. She added that confidentiality prevents the defense from accessing expert materials and that her clients did not attempt to cross borders.
Prosecutors said five people remain in custody. Police handed the 17-year-old, who was in the home that night, to her family.
Investigators will assess digital data, the security system, audio analyses, and expert findings under the secrecy order. Officials say they will make further announcements when the legal limits allow.
3 min read
