Honour killing story: Daniela Karaffa (2013)

Daniela Karaffa
born: 1977
strangled: 12 March 2013
Residence: Munich-Pasing
Provenance: Victim: Slovakia; Perpetrator: Turkey
Children: 2 (2 and 5 years)
Perpetrator: her ex-boyfriend Bülent A. (43 years)

Bülent and Daniela have two children: a son and a daughter. Presumably all four have German nationality.

Daniela is getting a divorce and has a new boyfriend. Bülent doesn't want to accept this. He stalks and harasses her.

The two argue also in the evening of 12 March 2013. Then Daniela disappears. Probably strangled by her ex-boyfriend, wrapped in a carpet and taken to the underground garage. A friend reports her missing on March 18. While friends and the police are looking for her, Bülent cleans up the apartment and applies for custody of the two children.

Bülent is an unemployed electrician and is arrested on 27 March in the parental home. He is taken into custody. Although the body is still missing, he is accused of murder.

Only 14 months later, the police find the body after an anonymous written instruction. She was laid naked in a forest. The corpse is identified by dental records, later by DNA analysis.

The children are under the care of youth care. Daniela's parents live in Slovakia and have applied for guardianship.

In May 2015 Bülent will be sentenced to life imprisonment by the Munich Regional Court. The particular seriousness of the guilt is not determined.

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.