Man Who Slept Next to Murdered Girlfriend's Body for a Month Denies Killing Her

News By TooFab Staff |
Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office

The man claimed he thought she was "playing a joke on him" before realizing she was dead; the following day, he shot himself in the head with a nail gun -- and still had the nail in his head a month later when he reported her death to police.

A Turkish national is behind bars in Milwaukee after he showed up to a police station last month and claimed his girlfriend was not only dead inside his apartment -- but she had been there, as he slept next to her stabbed body, for nearly a month.

Serkan Akcilad, 24, is being held on $1,000,000 bond after being charged with reckless homicide over the death of his girlfriend, 21-year-old Silan Tut. As for why he waited so long to report her death, he allegedly said -- according to his arrest affidavit -- that he was "unfamiliar with the laws of this country."

According to FOX 6, Akcilad's attorney said his client was in the States on verified asylum status. The suspect also reportedly said he only reported the death because he knew property management was going to look at his apartment the following day. The pair had received an eviction notice in January.

Per the affidavit, Akcilad reported the death on February 27 -- but told police he left his girlfriend in their apartment on January 24 to run some errands and came home to find Tut dead. Per police, Akcilad was seen that night buying a bottle of bleach -- but he claims he bought supplies to clean up after their hamsters before they took off for a trip to Chicago.

He has denied killing her -- though a neighbor told police they heard the pair arguing loudly for about 10 minutes that night.

"He initially thought she was playing a joke on him, but she was cold to the touch and found she was dead," he told police, per the docs. "He then 'passed out' from shock. When he awoken, he saw she was still dead and may have passed out again."

Akcilad allegedly told authorities that the next day, January 25, he bought a nail gun and tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. The nail was still in his skull when he reported Tut's death the police -- and he had to undergo surgery to have it removed, as it was "extending into his brain."

Akcilad allegedly told police he "slept by the dead body of [Tut] on the floor where he initially found her," before officers found her laying face up with a pillow under her head. Authorities said the body appeared to have been "staged," with crime scene analysts determining she was stabbed elsewhere and dragged to where police found her.

Tut reportedly suffered stab wounds to the torso and neck and appeared to be dead for about a month.

Per the affidavit, he did admit to moving her body the day before reporting her death. He also allegedly admitted using Tut's phone to communicate with her family -- even sending them an old photo -- so he could "convince them that she was alive and in good health."

When asked about the lack of sharp knives in the apartment, Akcilad allegedly said he didn't know how they went missing; he also couldn't account for the nail gun.

Akcilad is due in court again on March 19.