A Turkish man has been arrested for pushing his pregnant wife off a cliff in 2018, then claiming her life insurance following her death, UK’s The Sun publication reported on Wednesday.

Forty-year-old Hakan Aysal reportedly pushed his wife off a 1,000-foot cliff while the couple were on vacation in Butterfly Valley in Mugla, Turkey.

Aysal’s wife Semra Aysal, who was 32 years old at the time of the incident, was seven months pregnant when she and her husband were taking photos on the cliff. She and the couple’s unborn child were killed instantly following the fall.

The couple reportedly stayed on top of the cliff for three hours “so that he could make sure no one was around.”

Turkish prosecutor accuses man of pushing wife off cliff for insurance money Turkish prosecutors said in an indictment that a man named Hakan Aysal pushed his wife off of a cliff to collect insurance money. Aysal reportedly set up an accident insurance... https://t.co/5INDcJdAjJ pic.twitter.com/oZv76hId5d

— 📰 Tᴜʀᴋᴇʏ NEWS 🇹🇷 (@Tr__News) February 9, 2021

“In the indictment prepared for the crime of ‘deliberate murder’ against the husband, it stated he planned an ordeal in order to get the guarantee of £40,865 [$56,605] from insurance,” according The Sun.

Aysal reportedly made the insurance claim shortly after his wife’s death, “but it was declined when news of the investigation was unveiled.”

Following the wife’s death, her brother reportedly said the family found out that Aysal had taken three loans on behalf of his wife while she was still alive.

In a statement carried by The Sun, Aysal denied killing his wife, saying: “After taking a photo, my wife put the phone in her bag. Later she asked me to give her the phone. I got up and then heard my wife scream behind me when I walked a few steps away to get the phone from her bag. When I turned back, she was not there. I did not push my wife.”

The investigation is currently active, and Aysal remains in custody.

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