On April 23, 32-year-old Turkish soccer player Cevher Toktas took his 5-year-old son Kasim to the Dortcelik Children’s Hospital in Bursa as he was suffering from a cough and high fever. Both of them were quarantined as these symptoms pointed towards a possible COVID-19 infection.
On May 4, Kasim was taken to the ICU after having breathing difficulties and died two hours later. Doctors believed it to a natural death even though he tested negative for coronavirus.
However, 11 days later, his father has been arrested for confessing that he killed his son, reports Mail Online.
Turkish soccer player Cevher Toktas admits to killing coronavirus-stricken son https://t.co/6dKOfxqvRV pic.twitter.com/HMXEvt1Ezj
— New York Post (@nypost) May 14, 2020
The soccer player turned himself in at a local police station saying he “didn’t love him” and had smothered him with a pillow at the hospital. New York Post quoted him admitting,
“After he stopped moving, I lifted the pillow. Then I yelled for doctors to help to draw any suspicions away from me.”
Outlook quoted him adding,
“I never loved my younger son after he was born. I don’t know why I don’t love him. The sole reason why I killed him that day is because I didn’t like him. I don’t have any mental issues.”
Consternation in Turkey as former top flight footballer Cevher Toktaş confesses to killing his own 5-year-old son.https://t.co/sCDFjEnabI
— AS English @ 🏡 (@English_AS) May 13, 2020
Officials will now carry out an autopsy as part of the investigation. If Cevher Toktas is found guilty after a trial, he will be sentenced to life imprisonment for “murdering a close relative”.
What a deeply disturbing turn of events. We hope that the police get to the bottom of the case as soon as possible.