Honour killing story: Vanessa Worschischek (2013)

Vanessa Worschischek
born: 1991 or 1993
Run over by car: 27 July 2013
Residence: Kastel / Wiesbaden
Origin: Victim: Germany; Perpetrator: Turkey
Children: probably none
Perpetrator: her ex-boyfriend Ahmet Ünlü (25 years)

This action can be preceded by a discussion in a parking lot, which Ahmet ends with driving over his ex-girlfriend in the car. She is thrown off the road and lies injured on the ground. Then he drives over her a couple of times and drives away at high speed.

The parking lot is near a swimming pool. So it is also conceivable that the perpetrator ambushed his ex-girlfriend there and argued. There are also witnesses who say Vanessa ran away from her ex-boyfriend.

After the crime, Vanessa dies in the ambulance. Witnesses give details about the vehicle at the scene of the crime and the license plate. The perpetrator is picked up at a clinic late at night after an APB. He remains silent in court. The warrant is for murder. The suspect has a German passport.

In June 2014 the trial will start at the District Court of Wiesbaden. In August Ahmed is sentenced to 8 years and 10 months imprisonment for manslaughter. The Public Prosecutor's Office will appeal.

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.