Background
Yavuz Yapıcıoğlu, born in 1967 in Adana, was nicknamed the "Screwdriver Killer" by the Turkish press; the nickname is a media label. Police records hold him responsible for 18 deaths, while some sources give a much higher figure that has not been confirmed.
He is reported to have been sent to hospital after earlier incidents on the basis of psychiatric reports, but released before his treatment period had ended. He then moved in with his brother in Çorlu, in Tekirdağ province.
What happened
On 24 December 2002, three people died in Çorlu. The victims included people working as a watchman at a sports facility, as a worker at an industrial site and as a company night watchman. The same morning, an imam was attacked and wounded in a mosque during dawn prayer.
The suspect was caught the next day. The case also brought renewed attention to attacks alleged to have happened in other cities over the preceding years.
Trial
The Forensic Medicine Institute found the defendant criminally responsible. In the Tekirdağ cases he received a combined sentence of several decades in prison; news reports cite different totals, such as 40 and 54 years. In a separate case over a young man's death in Çorlu, a 20-year sentence was reported.
Because of these inconsistencies, court records should be consulted for the exact total.
Legacy
The case is cited in debates about the adequacy of treatment and monitoring for people with severe mental health problems. The victims should be remembered as individuals with their own lives, not as figures behind a nickname.