Background
Murat Gök was a lawyer and special-authority public prosecutor born in 1972 in Adana. While serving at the İzmir courthouse he became known for investigations and operations against criminal organisations in public bodies, including municipalities, and was nicknamed the 'Super Prosecutor' in the press.
In 2009 the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors removed his special powers and he was reassigned to Samsun; sources differ on the details of the appointment. In Samsun he reportedly dealt with cases facing limitation periods, went about with a bodyguard and planned to write a book.
What happened
On 12 April 2013, Murat Gök, aged 41, was found dead in his flat in the courthouse housing in Samsun. When he stopped answering calls, his bodyguard and courthouse staff went to the flat where he lived alone and found him. The Samsun Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said he had been treated as an inpatient in hospital between 21 January and 18 February 2013 and was on sick leave. Some reports said he had been treated for liver and kidney failure, a herniated disc and psychological problems.
Chief Prosecutor Ali Yeldan said his bodyguard found him motionless on the sofa and that the 112 emergency team confirmed his death. His sick leave ran until 20 April. Early reports differed slightly: one said courthouse staff entered the flat with a locksmith's help.
Investigation and legal proceedings
An investigation was opened after his death and an autopsy was carried out at Samsun Training and Research Hospital. The chief prosecutor said the exact cause of death would become clear after tests. The result reported in the press was that he died of natural causes, and some reports indicated there was no poisoning.
His family and some of those close to him suggested he may have been the victim of an unsolved murder because of the investigations he led. No official finding supports this, and no one has been accused.
The claim made by the family and supported by some circles remains only an allegation because it conflicts with the official result. This article does not describe Gök's death as murder; it reports both the official outcome and the doubts the family has voiced.
Where it stands today
Gök's death is frequently mentioned in public debate on suspicious deaths. Without a firm forensic finding it cannot be treated as an established killing, yet his high-profile investigations and the removal of his special powers kept questions alive for years. Officially the cause of death is accepted as natural. He was buried in Samsun, in line with his own wishes.