The slaying of Safa Gul confounds authorities, who say they are stumped about a motive or a suspect.
By NORA KOCH
Published August 26, 2004
TARPON SPRINGS - The search for clues in last week's homicide and child abduction now spans two continents, authorities say.
Federal agents in Turkey are conducting interviews there, with Tarpon Springs police following up leads here in the shooting death of Turkish immigrant Safa Gul.
But so far, authorities say they have no breaks in the case that last week gripped Tampa Bay.
Gul, 50, was shot twice in the back of the head on Aug. 18, according to family members. When he was found dead, Gul's grandson, Ibrahim Gul, was missing from the Harbor Oaks home where three generations of the Gul family live. About eight hours after a statewide Amber Alert was issued, the 16-month-old boy was found unharmed, wandering around the parking lot of an Oldsmar shopping center.
Police have no motive or suspect in the case, said Tarpon Springs Sgt. Jeffrey P. Young.
"There's no witnesses, there's no apparent motive . . . and nobody's seen or heard anything," Young said.
Police aren't saying what U.S. agency is conducting interviews in Turkey or who they are questioning. On the day of the shooting, they did call in an FBI translator to help them talk to family members.
Sixteen-year-old Cihan "James" Gul came home from East Lake High School that afternoon to find his stepfather shot to death on the couch in front of the television, family members have said. The teen called 911, and authorities soon launched the missing child alert after searching the home and contacting relatives.
Ibrahim Gul was found about 10:30 that night by Barbara Taylor of Tampa, who went outside to smoke after dinner at Niko's Pizza and Seafood. She heard the child cry out, and then saw Ibrahim wandering alone, crying for his mother in the parking lot in the plaza at the northwest corner of Forest Lakes Boulevard and Tampa Road.
Ibrahim was reunited with his parents Sena and Tarik Gul around midnight that night at the Tarpon Springs police headquarters.
Safa Gul came to the United States about 16 years ago from Adana, a city in south-central Turkey, according to his family. Within five years, he had saved enough money to bring his family. Gul worked at the Leverock's seafood restaurant on Clearwater Beach for a dozen years and most recently drove as an independent contractor for Yellow Cab.
Family members could not be reached this week, but have said they are confused about why anyone would want to kill Safa Gul.
"We have no enemies," Sena Gul said the night of the shooting. The family has said they hope to take Safa Gul's body back to Turkey.
