Man found guilty of assault, kidnapping, and attempting to extort $2.5M from female victim.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man accused of a heinous crime in Palm Beach in 1918 has been found guilty of multiple charges after a jury rendered its verdict on Thursday. Murat Ekdi, 43, from Tampa, was convicted of kidnapping while in possession of a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, grand theft over $100,000 while in possession of a firearm, and threats or extortion while in possession of a firearm. However, he was acquitted of the charge of unlawful use of two-way communications while in possession of a firearm. Palm Beach Circuit Judge Scott Suskaer has scheduled a sentencing hearing for Ekdi on October 31 at 8:30 a.m.
Meanwhile, Mustafa Gencoglanoglu, 50, from West Palm Beach, who is the other suspect in this case, has a status check scheduled for October 31 at 8:30 a.m.
The crime unfolded on August 27, 2018, when Palm Beach town police were dispatched to Sabadell United Bank on Royal Palm Way following a report of a suspicious person incident. A 59-year-old woman had dialed 911 to report that she had been kidnapped, assaulted, and coerced into withdrawing money from her bank account to hand over to her captors.
The victim managed to escape her captor and seek refuge inside a conference room at the bank. She later positively identified Gencoglanoglu and Ekdi as the individuals who abducted her, assaulted her, and brought her to the bank against her will.
According to the victim’s testimony, she had known Gencoglanoglu for approximately a year. He had asked her to drive him to the Mangonia Park train station so he could catch a train to the Miami International Airport. However, upon reaching the station, Gencoglanoglu forcibly prevented her from leaving the vehicle and used a handheld stun gun to shock her multiple times.
After immobilizing her, Gencoglanoglu blindfolded her and drove her to an undisclosed location where Ekdi, wearing a black mask and gloves, awaited. Both men subjected her to further physical assault before coercing her to hold a handgun, claiming that it had been used in murders earlier that week. They warned her that failure to comply with their demands would result in them reporting the weapon to the police, along with her DNA and fingerprints.
Their demand was for the victim to withdraw $4 million from the bank. Despite not having access to that amount, she negotiated the sum down to $2.5 million, which the culprits reluctantly accepted. They then drove her to Sabadell United Bank in Palm Beach.
Once inside the bank, the victim managed to alert a teller about her abduction and pleaded for help. Sensing the urgency, the teller escorted her to a secure conference room that could be locked from the inside for safety.
Observing the commotion, Gencoglanoglu panicked and fled from the bank. Police apprehended him shortly thereafter.
The guilty verdict for Ekdi highlights the severity of the crimes committed and provides some measure of justice for the traumatized victim. As the sentencing hearing approaches, the court will carefully consider the evidence and the impact on the victim’s life, as well as the need for the defendant to be held accountable for his actions.
