Missing German woman found dead in northwest Turkey

A German woman who had been missing for over a month has been found dead in the basement of an apartment building in the Gölcük district of the northeastern province of Kocaeli.  

Police found the body of 39-year-old Rita Dar? Winkler in a barrel buried underneath an apartment building, in an operation launched after claims that she may have been killed by her boyfriend, identified only by the initials A.K.S.

Following up the claims, police began digging around the boyfriend's home and an apartment that was used as an office by one of his acquaintances.

During the search, a cement-covered barrel emitting a foul odor and leaking blood was discovered. Upon breaking open the barrel, police found the body of Winkler, whose hands had been bound and who bore traces of choking. 

As part of the investigation to find the woman, police had questioned A.K.S, who said the couple had traveled to the Ç?narc?k district of the western province of Yalova to buy a house. The man, who was released after the questioning, reportedly left Turkey and went to Germany, where his estranged wife lives.  

Winkler, a mother of two who was working in a hair salon in the southern resort province of Antalya, disappeared on March 10 after arriving in Istanbul to visit her boyfriend.
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