Man Allegedly Pushes Pregnant Wife Off Cliff After Taking Selfies, Claims Accident Insurance

A Turkish man posed for a selfie with his heavily pregnant wife just moments before he allegedly shoved her off a cliff so he could claim life insurance money, prosecutors allege.

Hakan Aysal, 40, was arrested in November 2020 for the murder of his wife Semra Aysal, 32, and their unborn child. The couple had been on vacation in Butterfly Valley in Mugla, Turkey, in June 2018, when the husband allegedly pushed his wife, who was seven months pregnant at the time, off the cliff where they had been taking photos.

Turkish prosecutors filed an indictment against Aysal for “premeditated murder” after the latter claimed that his wife fell off the 1,000-foot cliff after losing her balance. Aysal told police that the accident happened while he was taking a picture of his wife.

Prosecutors and investigators, however, believe otherwise. Shortly after his wife's death, Aysal tried to cash in on a personal accident insurance he had taken out on Semra's behalf — money that would amount to about 400,000 Turkish lira ($57,000), New York Post reported. The defendant's application was rejected due to the investigation surrounding the incident.

Prosecutors alleged that the “accident” was premeditated so the husband could claim the insurance money. It was also claimed in the indictment that the only reason the couple sat on the cliff for three hours was so Aysal could make sure there would be no witnesses when he did the act.

“In line with his plan, the defendant took out personal accident insurance on behalf of his wife, with a guarantee of 400,000 liras [$57,000], with the sole beneficiary being himself,” said the indictment.

A court has ruled that the husband be remanded in custody for premeditated murder.

Relatives of Semra have claimed that her husband acted suspiciously during the first few days of her death.

“When we went to the Forensic Medicine Institute to get the body, Hakan was sitting in the car,” recalled Naim Yoluc, Semra's brother, during a video interview in court, The Sun reported. “My family and I were destroyed, but Hakan did not even appear sad.”

Aysal, however, has denied all charges. “After taking a photo, my wife put the phone in her bag. Later she asked me to give her the phone. I got up and then heard my wife scream behind me when I walked a few steps away to get the phone from her bag. When I turned back, she was not there. I did not push my wife,” he told Daily Mail.

The investigation is ongoing.