A Wisconsin man, who lived with his girlfriend’s decomposing body for 20 days before reporting her death to police, has been charged with reckless homicide.
The case came to light after Serkan Akcilad, 22, walked into the Milwaukee Police Administration Building on Feb. 27 and reported that more than a month prior, on Jan. 24, he found Silan Tut dead on the floor of their apartment after he returned home from buying cleaning supplies, according to a criminal complaint obtained .
Akcilad told investigators he was gone for about one hour and when he came back, he found Tut “lying on the floor covered in blood,” per the complaint.
According to the complaint, Akcilad alleged he initially thought his girlfriend was “joking” and tried to pick her up.
Akcilad, a Turkish national, allegedly told police he didn’t report his girlfriend’s murder because he was “unfamiliar with the laws of this country,” the complaint states.
Officers then went to the Vim Vigor Lofts apartment complex where the couple lived and found Tut’s decomposing body on the floor “with a pillow placed under her head,” per the complaint.
The body “appeared to have been staged,” and the victim had 12 stab wounds to her neck, abdomen, back and right arm, the complaint states. Her decomposing body had a “strong odor” as well.
Officers searched the apartment and found no signs of forced entry.
Investigators using a blood detection chemical discovered evidence that an “extensive amount of blood had been cleaned up,” according to the complaint.
They also found a pillowcase with “apparent blood stains,” a box cutter inside the dishwasher and discarded takeout food and receipts dated from February 14-21, “indicating the apartment was being occupied during this time.”
After a search of Akcilad’s blue Ford Escape, investigators found a Pick n Save receipt from January 24 – the day the victim is believed to have been killed – for Clorox bleach and Raid insect repellent. Store surveillance video also showed Akcilad buying bleach at the store, per the complaint.
Akcilad claimed to have slept by Tut’s body, but had only moved her to the spot where she was found a day or so earlier, per the complaint.
He also allegedly told police he tried to commit suicide after her death by shooting himself with a nail gun.
During questioning, Akcilad denied cleaning the apartment and clothing to get rid of blood evidence after Tut’s death.
According to the complaint, Akcilad admitted that he had been in communication with Tut’s family in Turkey and pretended to be her “to convince them that she was alive and in good health.
“He admits going so far as to send (Tut’s) family a picture taken of her in December and telling them that it was a picture of her going to a wedding that day to prove that she was ok.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 19. Akcilad has not entered a plea. A lawyer listed as representing Akcilad did not immediately return a request for comment.
