A friend of Turkish singer Gullu's daughter has told a court she saw her throw her famous mother from a sixth-floor window as prosecutors seek an aggravated life sentence for murder.
The dramatic testimony came at the first hearing at Yalova 1st High Criminal Court in north-western Turkey over the death of 52-year-old Gul Tut, better known by her stage name Gullu.
Gullu died after falling around 18 metres (59 feet) from a window at her home in the Cinarcik district of Yalova Province on 26 September 2025.
Her daughter, Tugyan Ulkem Gulter, is accused of the premeditated murder of a close relative and faces an aggravated life sentence if convicted.
Gulter's friend Sultan Nur Ulu, who was in the room when Gullu fell, told the court: "We were in the room and Gullu came in.
"I was looking in the mirror at injuries from an accident I had previously suffered.
"When I turned around, I saw Tugyan throw her mother out of the window."
Ulu is separately facing between two and four years in prison for allegedly giving false testimony during the investigation.
Gulter denied killing her mother and told judges that the group had been watching a film before she and Ulu went into the room and continued dancing.
She said: "When my mother came in, we were dancing and she danced with us.
"Later, while my back was turned, I heard a 'bang'.
"When I looked around, my mother had fallen. I did not see anything touch her."
The judge also questioned Gulter about why some of the security cameras inside the apartment had been unplugged.
She said the socket used by the kitchen camera had been needed for a tea-making machine, while the camera in the living room had been unplugged because they regularly used the socket to charge phones.
Asked why she went back upstairs after her mother's fall, Gulter said: "I wasn't myself at that moment."
Prosecutors have alleged that Gulter deliberately lured her mother into the room by playing one of her favourite songs before grabbing her from behind and pushing her through the window.
The indictment also cites witness statements, phone searches and messages which prosecutors say show that Gulter had previously spoken about wanting her mother dead.
Gulter has denied wrongdoing throughout the investigation.
Turkey's Forensic Medicine Institute previously said medical evidence alone could not establish whether Gullu's death was suicide, an accident or caused by another person.
Toxicology tests showed the singer had 3.53 promille of alcohol in her blood when she died, according to the indictment.
The hearing was adjourned until 9 October.
(Harrisons)
