Missing for 39 years: The shocking truth behind a woman's disappearance

Investigators in the Şavşat district of Artvin province have uncovered the skeletal remains of Nigar Bilgin, a woman who had been unaccounted for nearly four decades. The discovery followed an administrative review triggered when Bilgin failed to obtain a new chip-enabled identity card, prompting officials to verify her residency status.

Administrative Review Triggers Investigation

The Şavşat District Civil Registration Office initiated inquiries into Bilgin’s whereabouts after noting that she, born in 1963 and registered in the Gündoğdu neighborhood of Çoraklı village, had not applied for the updated identification document. Jandarma teams conducted field checks within the village, revealing that Bilgin had not been seen in the area for approximately 39 years. Reports suggesting she may have been killed led the Şavşat Public Prosecutor’s Office to open a formal criminal investigation.

Deep-dive research by the Jandarma Crime Investigation Team (JASAT) and the Şavşat District Jandarma Command established that Bilgin married Zeki Bilgin in 1987. Records indicated no official transactions were processed under her name following the wedding date. Authorities located Zeki Bilgin residing in a shack within a nearby forest. His brothers, Müzekkir Bilgin, aged 72, and Atanur Bilgin, aged 66, were detained after providing contradictory statements regarding the situation.

Husband Admits Burying Wife

During cross-examination, Müzekkir Bilgin confessed that his brother Zeki was responsible for the crime. Zeki Bilgin, initially denying the accusations, eventually admitted to killing his wife. In his statement, he claimed, "My wife Nigar died as a result of violence she suffered from her father. After she died, I buried her myself in the wooded area."

Excavations carried out in the forest yielded skull fragments and bone remains believed to belong to Nigar Bilgin. Following these developments, judicial measures were imposed on the suspects. Zeki Bilgin, now 60 years old, was taken into custody. Müzekkir Bilgin was placed under house arrest, while Atanur Bilgin was released subject to judicial control conditions that include a ban on leaving the country.