Girl Buried Alive News Unveils 16-Year-Old Victim

By: Bill Waters
Staff Writer
Published: Feb 7, 2010

World News - Turkish 16-year-old girl was buried alive by relatives for talking to boys. She was found in a chicken pen after reported missing for 40 days. Police found out about the incident from an anonymous source.

This is a really sad story about a Turkish female teenager who was put to death by her relatives. This is an ancient ritual that occurs in the southeast Kurdish region. The killing happened in the town of Kahta.

Medine Memi, 16, was part of a gruesome honor killing just because she befriended boys. Police were told about the incident and later found her body in a chicken pen. They discovered her body in a sitting position with her hands tied.

She was found in six feet in the ground. Memi was missing for 40 days, according to police. A subsequent post mortem revealed that she had a significant amount of soil in her lungs and stomach.

"The autopsy result is blood-curdling. According to our findings, the girl, who had no bruises on her body and no sign of narcotics or poison in her blood, was alive and fully conscious when she was buried," police said.

Relatives Face Trial After Arrest

Medine's father and grandfather have been formally arrested and jailed pending trial over her killing. The father gave testimony that his family was unhappy that she had male friends. Unfortunately, it is a practice that normally goes undiscorvered in the Adiyaman province.

In honor killings, a so-called family council names a member to murder a female relative considered to have sullied the family honor, usually by engaging in an extra-marital affair. However, the practice has gone so far as to kill rape victims or women who simply speak to strange men. Turkey has laws to forbid the practice.