ORLANDO, Fla. — Two and a half years after a Turkish tourist was shot dead on his honeymoon on I-Drive, a man is finally facing charges for his murder, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Troy Sparrow, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Osman Darcan.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, investigators made the arrest after receiving tips and following up on several leads about the armed robbery that killed the Turkish professor.
Darcan, 52, had just returned with his wife to the Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive at about 1:40 a.m. in September 2016 when they were approached by a man armed with a gun, deputies said.
The man tried to snatch the woman’s purse as she got out of the car, and when Darcan tried to intercede, the robber shot him.
"There was a struggle that ensued, and the male victim was shot and he was pronounced deceased on the scene," Orange County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rose Silva said at the time.
Darcan’s 44-year-old wife, who was not identified, was not injured in the robbery.
Darcan was a prominent professor at the Bogazici University in Turkey, where he worked in the school of applied science.
He’d been there since 1990, and the university said Darcan had completed groundbreaking work and research during his time there.
Deputies have not released any additional information about the case.
CASE SOLVED: An arrest has been made in the 2016 shooting death of Osman Darcan. Darcan was shot and killed during a robbery at Wyndham Orlando Resort on I-Drive . Troy Sparrow, 27, has been charged with 1st Degree Murder. pic.twitter.com/YdYuWeZTvv
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) April 29, 2019
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