Boxer Selim Kemaloglu was found dead in his prison cell in Turkey earlier this month at the age of 27. Kemaloglu had recently been found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Zeynep Senipar, which was covered in sensational fashion by news outlets around the world. According to a report by The Daily Star, Kemaloglu’s cause of death was ruled to be suicide.
Kemaloglu was a rising star in the sport of boxing and was acquiring a substantial following before he was charged with the murder of his girlfriend. Kemaloglu stabbed Senipar almost 40 times, and prosecutors believed that Kemaloglu attacked her in a frenzy after they got into an argument. She was killed at his home in the Mentese district, which is in southwest Turkey. Kemaloglu was sentenced to a minimum non-parole term of 24 years in jail on Oct. 22, but he passed away just weeks into that term.
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Prison guards reportedly found Kemaloglu hanging in his prison cell, using a bed sheet as a makeshift rope. He was transported to the Adana Forensic Medicine Institute where his cause of death was ruled to be suicide. Kemaloglu had been imprisoned in southern Turkey in Adana F-Type Prison.
Kemaloglu murdered Senipar on May 24, 2020. He stabbed her 37 times in the chest with a bread knife and was pronounced dead on the scene. Kemaloglu was present when authorities arrived, and he needed to be hospitalized for injuries as well. Authorities suspected that those injuries were self-inflicted, contributing to the coverage about Kemaloglu’s “frenzy” and “rage episode.”
Kemaloglu had a long criminal record before Senipar’s murder, with a total of 14 convictions. Notably, he was arrested on Aug. 28, 2019, for sexual assault and deliberate injury. It’s unclear when his relationship with Senipar started, but they had reportedly broken up about a month before he killed her. The couple continued to see each other during this time, and two weeks before she died, Senipar reported to police that Kemaloglu had beaten her. She has been memorialized by her local community in Turkey, where activists say that violence against women is worsening in recent years.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available.
