Cengiz Karki
born: 1980
murdered: 8 August 1998
Residence: Mönchengladbach
Origin: Turkey
Children: none
Perpetrator: Serdar Gedik (17 years old at the time of the crime)
The 17-year-old Serdar lives with his family in Mönchengladbach-Rheydt and attends high school. His 15-year-old sister Serap has a 17-year-old boyfriend, Ali, at first probably secretly. She is scared and hides in a basement. The basement probably belongs to the family of Ali's friend Cengiz Karki.
When Serap's parents find out, they want to force a marriage with the young man who organized the hiding place (so his brother says later). The driving force is probably Serap's mother. She supposedly wants to organize the wedding. Possibly, however, it is only an appearance. Possibly Cengiz had to be taken out of the way because he had hidden the girl. It is unlikely (but possible) that the girl's 17-year-old brother would plot the murder of Cengiz without his parents' knowledge.
On August 8, 1998 - Cengiz's brother continues - the wedding is planned. Serdar rings the bell and asks Cengiz for a preliminary meeting. The two men walk around the block. Serdar stabs Cengiz to death in the street. The young Turk bleeds to death and dies in the hospital. In court, the perpetrator will later say that he had wanted to save his family's honor.
After the crime, the murderer initially fled and was arrested on January 3, 2001. He attracted the attention of the police in Mettmann near Düsseldorf. He is sentenced by the district court of Mönchengladbach to 5 years in juvenile prison for manslaughter. He escapes from prison, is arrested again and deported to Turkey after serving his prison sentence. He manages to re-enter Germany with false papers. Here he works in a kebab store.
The crime later reappears in the media when Serdar shoots down the window of the Turkish restaurant Manolya in Cologne-Ehrenfeld in December 2006 after a bar brawl. The bullets did not hit anyone. The 26-year-old fled to Greece, where he was arrested and extradited to Germany. In April 2008, the trial for the shooting begins. Serdar's cousin Isa and another Turk are also facing charges.
Serdar is sentenced to 2 years and 9 months in prison.
