Turkey double murder case: Son found guilty, father acquitted

Man sentenced to life for stabbing two Northern Irish women to death while they were on holiday

(REUTERS)

A man has been found guilty of the murders of Marion Graham and Cathy Dinsmore - the two women from County Down who were killed while on holiday in the western Turkish city of Izmir.

Recep Cetin, the ex-boyfriend of Ms Graham’s 15-year old daughter Shannon, has been sentenced to a whole-life jail tarrif for the murders.

His father Eyup Celtin, who was also charged with the murders after a witness claimed he was at the scene of the crime, was found not guilty.

Recep Cetin, who is now in his 20s, struck up a relationship with Shannon Graham while she was on holiday. Marion Graham and her daughter, along with family friend Cathy Dinsmore, continued to intermittently travel to the Turkish resort of Kusadasi during the school holidays.

In August 2011 Cetin, who worked as a waiter at the time, attacked the two older women – stabbing Ms Graham 17 times and Ms Dinsmore 35 times. There bodies were later found in a wood on the outskirts of Izmir.

Cetin, who had lied about his age during the relationship with Shannon Graham, continued to do so when tried by the Turkish court. Though he attempted to pass as a 17-year old in an effort to be tried as a juvenile offender, bone tests ultimately revealed Cetin to be in his 20s.

The trial was further held up when Cetin said he was psychiatrically ill. A claim later dismissed by the court.

The judges involved unanimously sentenced Recep Cetin to life but said there was not enough evidence to convict his father.