The family of Pelin Kaya have spoken about the way their lives were savagely uprooted when she was killed by a speeding motorist in Gżira just hours into her 30th birthday.

“We have no joy, no desire. Each of us is waiting for the day we will reunite with her. I always say we all died but only one of us was buried,” Derya Kaya, the victim’s sister, said.

One year on from the crime that shook the country, Derya, however, said she has “absolute faith” in the Maltese justice system and that the accused will be punished in the “harshest” manner.

The 30-year-old Turkish interior designer was walking on Msida Road, in Gżira on January 18 when a BMW ploughed into her before the car crashed into a petrol station and the glass window of a KFC restaurant.

CCTV footage showed the driver, Jeremie Camilleri, walking away from the wreckage and incredulously hurling rocks at Pelin as she lay dying on the side of the road. Tasered by the police within minutes, Camilleri later said he wanted to be famous.

As the world ushered in 2024 with new hopes, Derya told Times of Malta there were no celebrations for the Kaya family.

“Longing is the greatest enemy; the more we miss her, the more the pain increases.”

She vividly recalls those hours before the accident. Back in Turkey, Derya and her parents huddled together to video call Pelin to celebrate her 30th birthday.

The last message Derya would receive from her youngest sister read: “I love you, sis.”

The family agreed to call her again later in the day but it was they who received a call which would devastate their lives. It was one of Pelin’s friends.

“I remember screaming and falling to the ground when I heard the news. My parents came, grabbed the phone and received the news. When I came to my senses, the house felt dark and my parents were on the floor crying.”

Derya wasted no time and, by the following day, was in Malta, along with her uncle, Akyan Ceylan in time to see Camilleri escorted to court where he denied murder charges.

The crash site in Gzira, Pelin Kaya and her alleged murderer Jeremie Camilleri (top).

Until she reached the airport, she did not check the details of the crime, with her only focus to be next to her sister as soon as possible. She still could not believe it. 

When she did read the news, Derya described how her “blood froze”.

“How could the torture on a lifeless body continue for 10 minutes? That was my sister on the ground, her shoes left on the pavement.”

The nightmare continued as Derya visited the hospital to identify her sister.

“When they showed her to me, her face wouldn’t leave my mind. My little sister had gotten cold. I hugged her, tried to warm her with my breath and hands, hoping she would wake up if she warmed up... it didn’t happen.”

Pelin Kaya's mother, Çiçek Kaya (centre) and Derya (right) in Malta.

‘A rare beauty with an elegant soul’

The youngest of three sisters, Derya described Pelin as the “jewel of the family” who was respectful and quiet.

“Pelin was like a clear and calm river, a rare beauty with an elegant soul. She was always afraid of hurting people, extremely committed to her responsibilities and respectful to everyone.”

Despite having the opportunity to excel in volleyball as a career, she decided to continue her studies in architecture. Before moving to Malta, Pelin was one of the architects who designed the Nike store in Istanbul.

“I am sure she would have been equally successful in Malta, where she was loved and considered promising by her colleagues and superiors.”

Pelin’s source of faith was a strong anchor in her life.

“She used to always say ‘God is watching over us’ and that we should live our lives according to this. This has become a life lesson for me and that now she is watching over us next to God. How we pass this test is crucial.”

A ring with the engraving of a portrait of Pelin now travels with Derya everywhere she goes.

‘No more birthdays will be celebrated’

Two days after the murder, a large group of mourners gathered at the murder site to support Derya and her uncle. Pelin’s friends brought her birthday cake to the vigil, with one slice missing, the piece served to Pelin at her birthday party. The purple cake covered in references to the sitcom Friends, includes unnervingly, the prescient phrase “why God, why”.

Derya recalls how she wanted to experience the pain her sister experienced dying on the pavement. She knelt over the cake, sobbed and sang Happy Birthday.

“I wanted to scream wildly, even if it meant tearing my lungs apart to release the pain inside me. Everything was left unfinished, like the cake. I collapsed all of a sudden as a wind extinguished the candle in her place. No more birthdays will be celebrated; all birthdays ended with her last birthday.”

Now, Derya carries a ring with a portrait of Pelin engraved on it wherever she goes.

“She was so young when her life was stolen; she had many unfinished dreams – to be a successful architect, to travel, to get married and have children... loads of dreams unfinished.”

On the first anniversary of Pelin’s murder, Derya and the Turkish Embassy are organising a vigil in remembrance at the site of her murder, tomorrow, January 18, at Triq l-Imsida, Gżira from 6pm to 8pm.