Who is sarai sierra

As well as being bludgeoned over the head, she had extensive trauma to her torso, her right hip area and bruises on her arms, suggesting a struggle. Istanbul authorities say the area where the mother-of-two was murdered is a known rape black spot in a run down part of the city.

A Swedish tourist was raped at knife point in the same place in January , and in March a Japanese girl suffered a chillingly similar attack to Sarai's murder when she was beaten about the head with a rock and raped, according to Turkish daily newspaper Takvim. Grief: Steven refused to talk about the claims leaked to the media by Turkish police about her liaisons with a man named Taylan K. Another year-old Turkish girl was attacked at knife point at the same spot but managed to fight off her attacker and flee to safety.

Since those attacks, Turkish police have installed extra lighting and CCTV in the area in a clearly-failed attempt to make it safer. Taylan K has denied wrongdoing and said the two met on January 10 for the first time in Istanbul but he did not see her again until January 20 when she wrote to him: 'I want to see you.

The next day he missed two messages from her in the morning and when he tried to call, her phone was off. But she never showed up. State Prosecutor Huseyin Kaplan said Taylan is not being considered as a suspect and authorities aren't concerned about their alleged affair. It was also reported today that police are questioning a rug dealer and hostel owner in the area where Sarai's body was found after checking her phone and Gmail records, and have taken DNA records.

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, 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 nine and 11, that 'mommy got hurt and she died'.

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

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 on Wednesday night after helping local police, had refused to let anyone else tell their sons what had happened until he returned to the U. 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.

Steven was referring to reports published in Turkish newspapers this week that Sarai was seen with a second mystery man twice before her death - including the day she was supposed to fly home on January 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 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. Heading home: A casket carrying the remains of Sierra is prepared to be loaded onto a flight at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey in early after her body was found in a seedy area of Istanbul.

Final journey: The casket carrying Sarai Sierra's body is loaded onto a plane bound for New York at the Ataturk Airport shortly after it was found in February. But as the time neared she seemed very nervous. But I did say she was brave to go alone. Another neighbor, Juan Perez, said Sarai appeared to be devoted to her family. They married when she was The boys were the light of their lives. Claims: Turkey's Vatan newspaper reported that Taylan had sex with the married mother of two.

But when I asked if she was sure, she nodded. She did seem nervous. Other neighbors in the seven-story 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.

Yes she did,' said one elderly woman. Istanbul is an exotic, expensive place. Her 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 , 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. 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.

Scene: Her body was found stashed in this cave in the low-income district of Sarayburnu on Saturday. Theory: Police say she may have been murdered somewhere else and her body was dragged to the area. 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, returning to Istanbul on January 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.

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. Struggle: Sarai's mother Betsy Jimenez sobs during a news conference at a friend's home on Monday.

Loss: Magdalena Rodriguez had planned to travel with Sierra, but dropped out due to financial reasons. January 7 Sarai Sierra left the U. January 15 Sierra traveled to Amsterdam, and later Munich. January 19 Sierra returned 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. 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. 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. According to sources who read the forensic report, the young mother also had extensive trauma to her torso, right hip area, bruises on her legs and a large chin wound. 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. He added on Friday: 'Thank you for all the support in purchasing Sarai's pictures.

Quick update, all expenses for Sarai's funeral have been paid for! All funds will be going to her children. Thank you for your support. Tryst: She reportedly met the man, identified as 'Taylan', when he commented on her Instagram page. Stunning: Sierra's family had put her photos, pictured, up for sale to cover her funeral expenses. 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. I did not have such an intention. As the Court of Cassation upheld the life sentence, it overturned the decision made for sexual assault and theft, saying a heavier sentence should be imposed for these charges given the nature of the offense.

Sierra, 33, left the U. She went missing on Jan. She had planned to head to Galata Bridge on the day, a well-known tourist destination that spans the Golden Horn waterway. When she failed to appear in New York on her planned day of return, her husband, Steven Sierra, contacted the owner of the accommodation she was staying at only to learn that her personal belongings along with her passport were still there.

After an intense search that lasted nearly two weeks, the body of Sarai Sierra was found near the ruins of some ancient city walls and a highway on Saturday. Sierra was wearing the ame outfit she was seen wearing on surveillance footage taken at a food court and on a street the day she vanished, Capkin said. A blanket was found nearby. It did not appear she had been raped or was involved in any espionage or trafficking, Capkin said. At least nine people have been held for questioning, including two women, as investigators try to unravel what happened to the mother of two.

Turkish police are reportedly speaking to a local man who was supposed to meet Sierra the day she went missing, but he said she never showed, local media reported. Sierra's disappearance nearly two weeks ago sparked a massive search by Turkish authorities. Missing person cases are rare in the country.