Turkey murder victims arrive home

Published Wednesday, 24 August 2011
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The bodies of two Co Down women murdered while on holiday in Turkey last week have arrived back in their hometown of Newry.

Marion Graham and her friend Cathy Dinsmore, were stabbed to death in a wooded area of Izmir, where their bodies were found on Friday.

Their remains left Istanbul at around 10.45am, on a flight which landed at Dublin airport at around 1:50pm.

Ms Graham's daughter Shannon, 15, arrived home on Monday night with her father, Raymond McGuinness.

Funeral plans are underway and both services will take place on Friday.

It is understood, Ms Graham's will take place in the morning, while Ms Dinsmore's will take place in the afternoon.

Speaking exclusively to UTV on Tuesday Mr McGuinness said: "The family are still trying to come to grips with what happened in Kusadasi."

The Turkish boyfriend of Shannon, Recep Chetin (also known as Alex), has been arrested and is understood to have already confessed to the killings.

Much of the detail of the case remains speculative, amid confusion over his age, he was initially thought to be 17, but could actually be in his 20s.

But one line of inquiry is that he murdered the women because Shannon's family wouldn't allow the couple to be married.

Shannon's dad met him last year and admitted he had concerns.

"He had said he was 17," he explained. "I didn't mind as long as he treated my daughter with respect and he was good to her and he was kind - which she expressed.

"But I did express to Marion that I wasn't too happy with it and Marion said: 'Listen, it'll blow over. It'll just be a holiday romance.' But obviously they kept in touch."

But Mr McGuinness added that the marriage "would never have happened" and that Shannon was about to go back to school after the holidays.

Telling UTV his daughter's life had been "changed forever", Mr McGuinness said she is his main concern now.

"She's only 15 years of age," he said. "Not only has she lost her mum, but she's lost her best friend."

© UTV News
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1 Comments
kerry in belfast wrote (274 days ago):
I am in complete shock of what has happened in turkey,i have been in the country on holiday about 13 times visiting resorts such as kusadasi,marmaris & gumbet,ive never heard of this before,turkey i think is a safe place & the locals are absolutely amazing people,so friendly & welcoming,i just hope it doesnt put people off,i am due the fly out next july for ten days with my family.My thoughts go out to the families of the women murdered in turkey & i hope those involved get what they deserve....rip marion & kathy xx
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