‘I saw both suspects near scene of killings’ – Witness tells Turkish court in Newry women murder trial | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

‘I saw both suspects near scene of killings’ – Witness tells Turkish court in Newry women murder trial

A witness in the trial of two Turkish men accused of the murder of popular local women Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore has told the court: “I saw father and son murder suspects at the scene of the crime”.

The horrific 2011 murder of the two Newry women left the local community in shock. Marion Elizabeth Graham (54) and Kathy Dinsmore (54), were stabbed to death in a wooded area in Turkey, which the two women and a 15 year old girl were visiting at the time.

Media reports at the time suggested that Recep stabbed the two ladies in a frenzied attack after the women disagreed with him about marriage plans.

The Turkish media has also claimed that when confronted with the bloodied clothing Recep admitted taking the two women in his father’s car to a quiet woodland area where he stabbed them both to death.

According to BBC Northern Ireland, Turkish judges today examining evidence about the horrific murders heard from a witness via video link from another court room.

Remaining anonymous and with a disguised voice, the witness said he was visiting a graveyard close to the murder scene on the day of the brutal killings.

He told the judges he heard moans and screams and followed a path where he saw Recep and his father Eyup Cetin ‘standing beside an electricity pillar’. He said he contacted local police 24 hours later after reading a newspaper report on the murder.

However, the defence lawyer for the Turkish duo dismissed this and said that according to police records the witness did not contact the police until four weeks after the killing.

Describing the unidentified witness as a ‘liar’, Recep and Eyup insisted they could not accept the witness’s statement and asked the court to set them free. The judge however, declined and ordered both to be kept in custody.

The mystery over the age of Recep Cetin was also resolved today in court. Uncertainty surrounded his age for months after he claimed he was 17 years old but an officer from the Turkish Birth Registry office told the court that Recep’s legally accepted age was 22.

This means the 22 year old will face a heavier penalty if he is found guilty of the murders in an adult court system as opposed to being tried in the juvenile justice system where it was being dealt with after his arrest.

The next hearing will take place on 28th December 2012.

More on this story:

Suspect appears in court on double murder charge of Newry women
Court ruling over Turkish murders could take up to six months

Turkish court hears of horrific stabbings of local women
Man accused of murdering two County Down women to face bone marrow tests
Father of Turkey murders accused is arrested
Teenager back in court over Newry double murder

 

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Posted by on Nov 9 2012. Filed under Community, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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