MISSING MOMMY: Little Silas Sierra is filled with sadness yesterday as dad Steven eulogizes wife Sarai (seen in surveillance photo in Turkey not long before she was slain). (
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The husband of a Staten Island mom slain on a solo vacation in Turkey expressed his “truly deep” love at her funeral yesterday — as detectives closed in on the homeless man suspected of killing her.
“I’m still asking a lot of questions right now . . . Why this way?” Steven Diaz-Sierra, 40, told more than 300 mourners during a heart-wrenching service for his wife, Sarai, at The Christian Pentecostal Church.
“Sarai made me laugh so very much. When she wasn’t making me angry, she’d make me laugh.”
But Diaz-Sierra — whose wife reportedly had sex with at least one man during the trip that was supposed to be for photography — admitted their marriage was far from perfect.
“We drove each other crazy,” he said. “She knew how to push my buttons. I knew how to push hers. We learned how to do that after 16 years.”
New surveillance video released by Istanbul cops shows Sierra, 33, wearing sunglasses, jeans and a brown jacket, walking on Jan. 21 about a mile from the remote spot where she was found dead on Feb. 2.
Police hope the video will help them locate the 46-year-old homeless suspect, identified as “K.”
Soon after Sierra’s disappearance on Jan. 21, K traveled to Karabuk, his hometown about 250 miles east of Istanbul, where he stayed for a few days and borrowed some money from one of his brothers.
Then, using a fake name, K bought a bus ticket for Hatay, a city in southwestern Turkey near the Syrian border that is 700 miles from Istanbul, the newspaper Vatan reported.
DNA samples were taken from K’s two brothers and his sister, police said.
At Sierra’s funeral, her husband insisted that his wife was faithful to him.
“I trusted her. She trusted me,” he said.
Sierra traveled to Turkey to explore photography. Her best friend of 25 years, Maggie Rodriguez, planned to go along, but backed out at the last minute.
“I wish I went with her, obviously. I wish I was a little bit more persuasive to maybe make her stay,” said Rodriguez. “I miss her terribly.”
Sierra’s sister, Christina Jimenez, choked back sobs while reading a poem she wrote for Sierra.
“I miss your voice, your infectious laugh. The memories we share, I swear they’ll never pass,” said Jimenez, as Sierra’s mom, Betzaida Jimenez, dabbed away tears.
In a final goodbye, Sierra’s young sons, Sion, 11, and Silas, 9, tossed pink flowers into her grave as Diaz-Sierra rested his hands on the white casket and wept.