Woman who killed her husband in Alayköy to remain in psychiatric hospital for life

A court in Lefkoşa found Emine Taşdemir, who stabbed her sleeping husband 30 times in their home in Alayköy in August, not criminally responsible due to insanity. Instead of standing trial, she will be placed under lifelong supervision at Barış Psychiatric Hospital.

The ruling followed a psychiatric assessment: doctors at Barış Mental and Neurological Diseases Hospital diagnosed her with schizophrenia and concluded that she could not be held criminally responsible for her actions.

At the hearing, specialist doctor Yağmur Darben Azarsız explained that schizophrenia is a lifelong mental illness with periods of remission and relapse, and that the patient is currently experiencing a relapse. She said the woman could pose a danger to others and needs treatment. The defendant’s lawyer also cited medical reports and argued that she should be treated rather than punished.

The judge ordered that Taşdemir be kept in hospital for life under Chapter 252 of the Mental Patients Act.

The murder took place on 22 August 2026. According to investigators, the woman entered the bedroom on the pretext of wanting to collect her belongings and stabbed her sleeping husband, Cumali İsmail Taşdemir, 30 times in the neck, lower back and back with a 25-centimetre knife. After her arrest, she was brought before the court six times, and her detention was extended for a total of 40 days. She spent 22 of those days undergoing assessment at Barış Hospital.