A family is reeling after a woman accused of fatally stabbing her husband while sleepwalking was cleared of murder charges by Victoria’s Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP). The case has sparked outrage and a sense of betrayal, particularly among the victim’s relatives.
Serdar Caliskan, 50, died in September 2023 after being stabbed during a camping trip with his wife, Ilknur Caliskan, 47. While initially charged with murder, prosecutors ultimately determined they could not prove the necessary elements of the crime due to Ms. Caliskan’s documented sleep disorder.
The family describes their grief as unending and feels deeply let down by the legal system. “It’s been hell since his death,” one relative stated.
This sense of injustice extends beyond Australia, reaching Turkey where Mr. Caliskan’s mother and siblings express feeling uninformed about the potential for charges to be dropped.
“We are not being informed, they ignore us. They cut us off,” lamented Muzaffer Caliskan, Serdar’s brother.
The incident occurred at Mount Disappointment in Victoria, where the couple were camping. Prosecutors allege that Ms. Caliskan, while sleepwalking, left their vehicle-top tent, descended a ladder, and retrieved a knife before fatally stabbing her husband.
A point of contention for the family is that they claim this sleep disorder was never disclosed during the couple’s 26 years of marriage.
“His parents had never heard of this,” Ceren Gover, Mr. Caliskan’s niece, stated. “They lived in a house together for over a month. No mention of it.”
The family is now advocating for measures to prevent similar situations, expressing concern for the safety of both the community and Ms. Caliskan’s children.
- Mr. Caliskan’s family believes the OPP failed them.
- They claim there was no prior knowledge of his wife’s sleep disorder.
- The family is seeking safeguards for public safety.
In a statement, the OPP asserted that dropping the murder charge was not taken lightly.
“After carefully reviewing the opinions of several experts, it was determined that the elements of murder could not be made out beyond reasonable doubt,” the OPP stated.
