The Staten Island mom who was found dead in Turkey on Saturday was likely killed by a blow to the head, local cops said.
Sarai Sierra suffered “clear” trauma to her skull, but formal autopsy results were not yet available, Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin said yesterday.
The 33-year-old married mother of two, an amateur photographer, left for Turkey on Jan. 7 for a photo vacation. She had initially planned to travel with a friend, but the pal canceled at the last minute because she didn’t have enough money.
Sierra’s corpse was found near Turkey’s famed Galata Bridge, which runs along the Sea of Marmara. She had been missing since Jan. 21.
Turkish news outlets said that 15 people were being questioned in connection with the case but that no arrests were imminent.
It was unclear if a Turkish man with whom Sierra exchanged e-mails during her first days in Istanbul was among those being grilled.
He told cops that he had planned to meet her near the Galata Bridge but that the meeting never happened.
Turkish cops said a witness came forward and told police that she saw a man trying to remove something from a white vehicle near where Sierra was found.
Yesterday, the US State Department confirmed Sarai’s death.
“We express our deepest condolences to her family and friends,” the agency said in a statement.