14-Year-Old Secret Solved with DNA: Gülizar Aydın’s Body Identified

The fate of Gülizar Aydın, who went missing in Aydın 14 years ago, has been determined through DNA analysis. The İzmir Forensic Medicine Institution found that Aydın’s body matched the unidentified female body found on the Söke-Milas Highway in 2012. A DNA sample was taken from Gülizar Aydın’s son, Burak Zülam, and compared to the samples from the unidentified body, confirming a mother-son DNA match. Aydın was born in 1971 and lived in the Akçakonak neighborhood of Söke. Aydın went missing on December 2, 2012, and was reported missing by her son on October 31, 2017. An investigation was launched by the Söke Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office under the number 2017/7288, and a working group was formed from Söke JASAT detectives. During the investigation, records and news of unidentified bodies in surrounding provinces were examined. It was found that on December 2, 2012, the day Gülizar Aydın went missing, a dismembered female body was found on the Muğla Milas-Aydın Söke Highway. After the establishment of the Bureau of Investigation of Unresolved Crimes within the Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Penal Affairs on April 24, 2026, unresolved case files were re-evaluated. The Gülizar Aydın file was also re-examined within this scope. In the studies coordinated by the Söke Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Selami Aydın’s base records, HTS data, vehicle movements, and witness statements related to the incident were analyzed in detail.