Background
Ali Kaya was born in Gaziantep in 1978. Known in the press as the "baby-faced killer", Kaya had been convicted of ten murders committed from 1997 onwards in several provinces, Alanya foremost among them. News reports say he committed his first murder at the age of 19. The families of those killed continued to carry their grief long after, in a file regarded as one of Turkey's best-known serial murder cases.
Kaya was serving his sentence in Gaziantep H-type Closed Prison. Reports say he received a life sentence. He is also reported to have escaped once before, in 2003, and to have been caught a year later.
The escape
On Sunday 5 January 2014, during open visiting, Kaya mingled with visitors and left the prison. According to press reports, there was no security camera at the visitor entrance. After the escape, administrative and judicial investigations were opened into the prison's management, and staff who may have been negligent were examined. Gendarmerie and police launched a large manhunt, centred on Gaziantep but covering many provinces.
During the two-month search, the gendarmerie is reported to have raided dozens of addresses. Press reports said Kaya had gone to Adana and Mersin and wanted to cross into Syria; this came from press coverage rather than official statements.
Recapture
On 3 March 2014, the gendarmerie caught Kaya in central Gaziantep, in a house reported to belong to a childhood friend. According to the reports he was armed and was seized as he tried to jump from one roof to another. Press accounts said a list with ten names was found on him. Interpretations of that list have not been officially confirmed. Kaya was returned to prison.
After the recapture, investigations into the prison administration and staff continued, and the security gap at the visitor entrance became a matter of debate. Kaya's return to prison eased the families' concerns to some extent.
Where it stands today
The case revived debate about prison security. Because of the long mourning of the victims' families and the alarm it caused among the public, the file is still remembered as one of Turkey's best-known serial murder cases.