Background
Atalay Filiz was born in 1986 in Bandırma and graduated from Galatasaray High School. The Turkish press often called him "Turkey's first serial killer"; this is a media label, not a legal term. The case covers three murders committed in Ankara and Istanbul between 2013 and 2016.
What happened
In September 2013, a couple was killed in Ankara. While the investigation continued, Filiz moved to Istanbul, lived using other people's identity documents and worked for about a year and a half at a tea garden in Tuzla.
In May 2016, a history teacher living in Tuzla went missing; her body was found on 28 May in bushes near her home. According to the court's reasoning, the act was planned because he feared his real identity would be discovered. Filiz was caught in İzmir in June 2016 after remaining at large.
Trial
A Forensic Medicine Institute report dated 29 June 2016 found him fully criminally responsible. On 1 December 2017 the Istanbul Anadolu 5th High Criminal Court sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment for the Tuzla murder, and the regional court of appeals upheld the ruling in September 2018. Separate trials over the two Ankara killings also ended in aggravated life sentences.
He was also convicted in a separate case for forging official documents in connection with the false identities. The rulings became final by 2020.
Where it stands today
The case is cited in discussions about identity verification and the tracking of missing persons, since a person using false identity papers was able to evade capture for years. The convictions are final and he remains in prison; out of respect for the victims' families, details of the killings are not described here.