Özkan Zengin (born 1982) is a Turkish

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who committed the homicide of at least three gay males. He was nicknamed "The Well Driller Killer" because he threw his victims into a well near the

crime scene A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcement. ...

. Zengin confessed that he also stole the

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

of the individuals he murdered. According to Zengin, he murdered gay individuals due to the feeling of

guilt Guilt most commonly refers to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term *Guilt (law), a legal term Music * ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims * "Guilt" ( ...

he felt after

sexual encounter Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

s he had with his victims. His

modus operandi A (often shortened to M.O. or MO) is an individual's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as . Term The term is often used in ...

mostly consisted of cutting the throat of his victims before throwing them in a well in the immediate area where he had a

sexual relationship An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves emotional or physical closeness between people and may include sexual intimacy and feelings of Romance (love), romance or love. Intimate relationships are Interdependence ...

with them. Cutting the throat of his victims would be unsuccessful at killing them immediately, so he would usually bludgeon his victims to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

with nearby items before throwing them in a hole or a well, burying one of his victims alive in one case. Zengin was born in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 1982. He was unmarried. He worked in a bakery. He started committing murder in May 2008 and killed four people by cutting their throats with one month between murders. Zengin was arrested on 20 November 2008. He told the police that "the well was his piggy bank," and he was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

. His identified victims were, from the oldest to the youngest: Yaşar Mızrak (44), Mehmet Naci Zeyrek (30) and teacher Enes Arıcı (25). He reportedly confessed to killing two other individuals (Aziz Taşdemir and Tarık Güzeller) as well.

References

1982 births Living people Turkish people convicted of murder Turkish serial killers Violence against gay men Violence against men in Asia Violence against LGBTQ people in Turkey {{Crime-bio-stub

See also

References