Günaydın was born in 1988 in Malatya and had no previous convictions. One suspect confessed that "The leader of the group was Emre. It was he who devised the plan to kill them. We went to the publishing house together. When we entered the place, we tied them to their chairs and Emre slit their throats". According to another suspect, the victims knew Günaydın, as he regularly visited the publishing house. Another suspect added that they all knew each other. When apprehended, the suspects were carrying a note that said in part "We did it for our country. They are trying to take our country away, take our religion away."