Honour killing story: Nadine Ertugrul

Nadine Ertugrul
born: 1979
Strangled: 12 October 2015
Residence: Ludwigsburg (near Stuttgart)
Origin: Victims: Germany; Offenders: Turkey
Children: 2 (3 and 5 years)
Perpetrator: her husband Ramazan (41 years)

Ramazan works as a machine operator for a car manufacturer. He lives with his wife Nadine in Ludwigsburg-Eglosheim. However, it is said that the couple are divorced and that both have new relationships. Nadine works for Porsche.

On October 12, 2015, Ramazan will strangle his wife (or beats her neck), probably in the hobby room of her house. He then hits her in the neck as if he were slaughtering her. He takes the body with him in his car and places it next to a train track. Later he calls his mother-in-law and the police and reports his wife missing.

A week after the crime, the police find the naked body.

The man is first arrested in August of the following year. In January 2017 the regional court in Stuttgart starts the manslaughter trial. The accused does not confess. Nadine's sister testifies that Nadine felt threatened because of the divorce. The new girlfriend of the alleged perpetrator is also questioned.

At the beginning of February, Ramazan hangs himself in his cell.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.