Revealed: The 'secret lover' of New York mother Sarai Sierra murdered in Turkey

Mike Gallagher

Feb 8, 2013 - 08:14

Feb 8, 2013 - 08:39

0 10.5k

Revealed: The 'secret lover' of New York mother Sarai Sierra murdered in Turkey

'Tarkan K' (pictured right) told Istanbul police he and Sarai Sierra (left) had sex in a bar bathroom in Beyoglu on January 20. Tarkan has denied wrongdoing and had previously denied the two had a relationship.

The New York mother who was bludgeoned to death during a solo trip to Istanbul last week had sex with her Turkish lover in a bar restroom the day before she died, it was claimed today.

The allegations come as the body of Sarai Sierra arrived at her home in Staten Island, and will add further salt to the wounds of her husband Steven who has to deal with both his devastating loss and heartbreaking allegations.

The Turkish media has identified Sarai's secret lover as 'Tarkan K.' and said the pair began communicating online about three or four months ago.

$\"Mouing:$

Mouing: Sarai's wake will be on Valentine's Day - what would have been the couple's 15th wedding anniversary

$\"Rest$

Rest in peace: The coffin carrying the body of Sarai Stevens arrived in Staten Island from Istanbul on Thursday

$\"Sorrow\"$

Sorrow: The family are preparing for her burial under the intense glare of the media

$\"Pain\"$

Pain: Steven Sierra, 40, had refused to tell their sons about her murder until he had retued from Turkey where he had been helping police

She is then said to have emailed him to say she was coming to Turkey and wanted to meet him. Her body was found beaten to death last Saturday when she failed to make the retu flight home.

Tarkan K's lawyer said his client has absolutely nothing to do with the murder and revealed he comes from a 'good family and completed a master's program abroad...He's very demoralized'.

Tarkan told Istanbul police that they had sex in a bar bathroom in Beyoglu on January 20, Hürriyet newspaper reported. Tarkan has denied wrongdoing and had previously denied the two had a relationship.

Meanwhile, Sarai's family are preparing for her funeral under the intense scrutiny of the media.

Looking exhausted and with dark rings under his eyes, her husband, Steven Sierra, revealed the heart-wrenching moment when he informed the couple's young sons of their mother's tragic death.

The devastated husband, 40, told their sons, aged 9 and 11, that 'mommy got hurt and she died'.

He told reporters outside the funeral home: 'They were distraught, very emotional, but I had to be honest with them.'

Steven, who flew from Turkey late last night after helping local police, had refused to let anyone else tell their sons what had happened until he retued to the U.S.

The family will gather on February 15 at Christian Pentecostal Church, where Sarai and Steven had met, for the woman's funeral. Her wake will take place on Valentine's Day - which would have been the couple's 15th wedding anniversary.

The grieving husband added that he had been too overwhelmed with grief to read media coverage of the murder.

$\"Heartbroken:$

Heartbroken: Steven Sierra, right, has revealed how he is struggling with the loss of his wife, Sarai, who was found murdered in Istanbul on Saturday

$\"Grief:$

Grief: Steven refused to talk about the claims leaked to the media by Turkish police about her liaisons with a man named Taylan K

Steven was referring to reports published in Turkish newspapers today that Sarai was seen with a second mystery man twice before her death - including the day she was supposed to fly home on January 21.

Police are also investigating whether she was involved with any criminal activity while in Turkey after she was seen with 'a criminal element'.

Investigators said the 33-year-old was last spotted on surveillance tape wearing a coat and carrying a handbag, which were not found with her body, Turkish media reported.

It was also said that she was not wearing pants at the time and they were found ripped nearby, though police said there were no obvious signs of sexual assault.

Friends told MailOnline that the beautiful woman appeared nervous in the weeks leading up to her solo trip to Istanbul.

'Sarai had never been abroad before and she seemed more scared than excited when I last saw her,' said a neighbor at the smart apartment block where Sarai lived with her husband Steve and their sons, aged 9 and 11.

'When she first talked of going to Europe three months ago her eyes were alight with excitement. But as the time neared she seemed very nervous.

'I"m not surprised really – I told her even experienced travelers worry. But I did say she was brave to go alone.'

Another neighbor, Juan Perez, said Sarai appeared to be devoted to her family. 'She and Steve were together for ever. They married when she was 19. The boys were the light of their lives.

'I was surprised when she said she was flying to Istanbul. It didn"t seem to be the sort of place most young women would want to go alone.

But when I asked if she was sure, she nodded. She did seem nervous.'

Other neighbors in the seven-storey block, which overlooks Silver Lake and is a few minutes walk from the local golf club and an ice skating rink, speculated that Sarai could be having an early midlife crisis because she married and had her sons so young.

$\"Early$

Early mid-life crisis: Neighbours have said that Sarai may have decided to take her adventure because she married so young

'Did she want adventure? Yes she did,' said one elderly woman. 'But I really was surprised she was vacationing without her family. Istanbul is an exotic, expensive place.'

Sarai, who filed for bankruptcy on 2005, had been unemployed for several years but recently got a part time job at a chiropractor"s office.

Her 40-year-old husband is a New York City bus driver. He drives an old Safari mini bus and neighbors said money appeared tight. Sarai usually walked everywhere with the boys.

Her parents Dennis and Betzaida Jimenez, who also declared bankruptcy in 2005, live a five-minute drive away and often babysat while Sarai took time off from motherhood to go into Manhattan to take photographs.

She told her family she wanted to pursue her dream of taking pictures in Turkey – yet her only equipment was an iPad and Droid phone. Both items were missing when Sarai"s body was found but the murderer did not take her wedding ring or other jewellery.

Meanwhile, a witness has told Istanbul police that he saw Sierra speaking to a different man outside the city's Sultanahmet Mosque on January 11, just days after she arrived in the country.

He handed her a card and as she left the mosque, she took a walk with him and four or five other men, the witness claimed, Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported.

Sierra flew to Amsterdam on January 15 and to Munich the next day, retuing to Istanbul on January 19.

The witness said he then saw Sierra talking with the same man on January 21 at Topkapi Palace - the day she was due to fly home, but she never boarded the flight.

Turkish police and the FBI are reportedly looking into whether Sierra was involved with drug traffickers, human traffickers or jewellery transportation while on her solo trip.

Tarkan K had initially insisted they were just friends, but Turkey's Vatan newspaper reported he told police they had consensual sex a day before she went missing.

He had hoped to see her before she left but she never responded to his message.

Tarkan, who is in his early 30s and lives in Istanbul, was quizzed by Turkish police several times and has given DNA samples, along with 21 other people.

He has denied any part in her murder.

All of those questioned have now been released, and police have also taken statements from 200 other people.

Sierra's body was found stashed by Istanbul's ancient city walls on Saturday, more than a week after she failed to catch her flight home.

Police said she died from a blunt force trauma.

She was found with a head wound and a blanket near her body and still had her earrings and a bracelet on, as well as her wedding ring.

Her iPhone and iPad were missing.

To pay for her funeral, her family began selling some of her images online on Tuesday and soon had enough to cover her expenses.

Sarai was believed to have finished a course in photography just before she made the trip to Istanbul, which she said was to take pictures of the city and its ancient ruins.

'Sarai's passion for photography and love for capturing the beauty we see in culture, architecture and scenery was her reason for traveling to Istanbul,' her brother, David Jimenez, wrote on the site.

He added this afteoon: 'Thank you for all the support in purchasing Sarai's pictures. Quick update, all expenses for Sarai's funeral have been paid for!

'From here on out any picture of hers that you purchase will NOT be going towards her funeral. All funds will be going to her children. Thank you for your support. David.'

RETRACING SARAI SIERRA'S STEPS

January 7 Sarai Sierra left the U.S. for Istanbul

January 15 Sierra traveled to Amsterdam

January 16 Sierra traveled to Munich

January 19 Sierra retued to Istanbul

January 20 Owner of house she was staying at claims to have last seen her; CCTV footage shows her walking through shopping mall

January 21 Mother was scheduled to board plane back to U.S.

Sierra's family say they last heard from her

Contact with 'Taylan' shows she planned to meet him on Galata Bridge

January 22 Sierra's plane landed in Newark, New Jersey without her

January 28 Husband and brother fly out to Turkey to assist with the search

January 30 A Skype call was placed on her American cell phone

January 31 Sierra's cell phone was activated again

February 2 Her body is found by the ancient city walls

'I'm heartbroken,' Mr Sierra told the New York Daily News, earlier this week. 'This is something you never want to imagine, and it's something I'd never want anyone to experience.

'You have so many plans, so many dreams with the person you deeply love. You look forward to many years together and there are so many things you haven"t fulfilled with that person, and now those won"t be fulfilled.'

Her mother, Betsy Jimenez, told the Today show: 'It was such a shock when we heard. She was supposed to come back and she didn't.

'Her little boys do not know, their father will talk to them once he gets back. We will all be present for this.

'It was the first time she was going overseas after getting into photography college. She wanted to go there and take pictures of bridges and the history of the city.'

She was in regular contact with friends and relatives, and had told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul's Golden Ho waterway, to take photos.

CBS News reported that shortly after Sierra's body was discovered, a woman came forward and told police she had seen a white car parked near the city walls as she was driving there the night of January 29, Anadolu reported.

The eyewitness said a man was trying to remove 'something' from the car, at which point she caught a glimpse of a woman's hand.

Last week, Turkish police released security camera footage showing the missing mother at a mall near her hostel hours before she disappeared.

Sierra can be seen eating lunch and walking through the mall on January 20 - a day before she was supposed to catch a flight back home.

Her family last heard from her on January 21, when she was supposed to start her jouey home, but she never checked into her flight.