Turkish authorities finished an autopsy on Monday of the Staten Island woman, Sarai Sierra, who was found dead in Istanbul on Saturday. The authorities submitted DNA samples from her body to a crime lab for testing.
According to Turkey's state-run media, Sierra was reportedly missing on Jan. 21 while vacationing solo in the populous Turkish city. Her body was found near the ancient city walls in a low-income district. Police identified her through her driver license found. She was likely killed by a blow to the head, local cops said, suffering "clear" trauma to her skull, but formal autopsy results were not yet fully available, Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin said on Sunday.
Earlier reports said she had been stabbed.
Also on Monday, police were scouring the area where the body was found for clues, with help of a sniffer dog, Anadolu Agency reported.
The U.S. State Department confirmed Sierra's death, and thanked Turkey's government for its extensive efforts to locate her body: "We are also appreciative of the many expressions of sympathy received from the Turkish people," the State Department's statement read.
As reported on CBSlocal.com, the Milliyet newspaper said a forensic medicine lab will continue examining samples from Sierra's fingernails, as well as hair and other samples from a blanket found near her body, as some nail scrapings suggest she may have tried to fight off her attacker.
Over a dozen people have already been questioned in the case, but most have already been released. Sierra, mother of a 9 and an 11-year old, had reportedly visited Istanbul on January 7 to explore her photography hobby. Her children have yet been notified about her death, as her husband, Steven, is on her way back from Turkey in the hopes of finding her. The two young children's grandmother, Betsy Jimenez, said Monday that their father will tell his kids what happened to their mother when he returns.
"She was just a mother who had a hobby, and she wanted to fulfill her dream," said the Rev. John Rocco Carlo of Christian Pentecostal Church in Staten Island.
Sierra was in regular contact with friends and relatives during the trip and had told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul's Golden Horn waterway, to take photos.
"Not until the father gets home, you know, will he be able to let them know everything that's going on," said family friend Marjorie Ryan. Her disappearance prompted a worldwide outcry, in hopes of finding her. A Facebook page that notifies the public of her disappearance features a poster of her with an inscription that reads: "Missing. Sarai Sierra @memyself_sarai 5'2", 1000 brown hair/eyes Missing in Turkey."
