Essex Police are conducting an international manhunt for a man accused of the horrific murder and mutilation of a love rival in Chelmsford, before fleeing the country the following day.
A Brutal Attack Over an Alleged Affair
The victim, 45-year-old Cumali Turhan, was subjected to a savage attack on 19 November 2024. Prosecutors believe the assault was motivated by an alleged relationship between Turhan and the partner of the suspect, Ceyhan Dinler. The pair were captured on CCTV having a heated discussion in The Glove pub in Chelmsford, shortly before leaving together.
The attack occurred at the Barista Bar on Duke Street, remarkably located just a minute's walk from the local police station. During the ordeal, Turhan was fatally stabbed in the neck. In a particularly brutal act, his tongue and genitals were cut out while he was still alive, with bruising indicating the tongue was forcibly removed.
The Gruesome Discovery and a Seven-Year Sentence
Following the murder, police discovered the severed body parts dumped in a bin. Turhan's remains were not found until 45 days later, recovered from the Enovert landfill site in Stanway, some 20 miles away. Evidence at the scene included the victim's blood on the ceiling and a bloody fingerprint belonging to Dinler on a table.
While the main suspect fled to his native Turkey the day after the killing, another man faced justice. Romanian national Ciprian Ilie, 44, was jailed for seven years in October 2025 after being found guilty of assisting an offender and preventing a lawful burial in connection with the case.
An Ongoing Search and a Chilling Documentary
Essex Police remain determined to locate Dinler and are working with the Crown Prosecution Service to secure his return. Detective officials have emphasised the gravity of the crime, stating the investigation was driven by the need to find justice for Turhan, a father whose young daughter must now grow up without him.
The chilling details of the murder and the extensive search for Turhan's body are the focus of a new Channel 4 documentary, 'Catching a Killer: Buried Truths'. The programme, which aired on 6 January 2026, reveals the father-of-one's last moments and the painstaking police work undertaken in a vast rubbish dump to recover his remains.
