Cumali Turhan, 45, disappeared last November before his body was eventually discovered this January – Ciprian Ilie, 45, is accused of assisting the victim’s alleged murderer
A man was fatally stabbed then mutilated before his naked body was dumped into a commercial bin before being found months later in a landfill site, a court has heard.
Jurors at court heard how Cumali Turhan, 45, died following a serious assault in Chelmsford city centre last November. Ciprian Ilie, 45, is accused of helping Ceyhan Dinler clean up the alleged murder scene and then disposing of Mr Turhan’s body.
Ilie is also accused of helping Dinler by bringing him a clean set of clothes. Dinler remains on the run and is believed to have fled to Turkey.
Mr Turhan was allegedly killed on November 19 last year after ongoing tension between him and Dinler, reports EssexLive.
Police officers located Mr Turhan’s body in a landfill site in Essex on January 11 this year after weeks of searching. The trial of Ilie began on Tuesday at Chelmsford Crown Court, where he is accused of assisting Dinler and preventing the lawful burial of Cumali. Ilie denies both charges.
The court heard that Ilie told police that he and his partner’s lives had been threatened by Dinler. He claims to have acted under duress when cleaning the scene, putting Cumali’s body into a commercial waste bin and fetching fresh clothes for the accused killer.
“We say that there was no threat and that even if there was such a threat, he could have escaped to the police station in a matter of minutes – but he did not,” Christopher Paxton KC, for the prosecution, told jurors. “That was because he was there and remained there to help Ceyhan Dinler, the killer. No doubt, homeless and keen to earn money from Dinler, and he was willing to help in whatever way he wanted.
“The actions of Ciprian Ilie and Dinler show, we say, that they were working together to get rid of Cumali’s body,” he added. “No doubt it was shocking to Ciprian to dump the body in the bin, but it did not stop him from doing it.”
The court heard that Dinler and Cumali were “well known in the local Turkish community”. It was said that there was an “ongoing and simmering issue” between the pair as Mr Turhan had had a relationship with Dinler’s girlfriend. Mr Paxton said Dinler was “greatly angered” by what had taken place.
The woman was said to have “cheated” on Dinler with Cumali in spring last year, and this had led to an incident where Dinler punched Mr Turhan in the face, resulting in a black eye. It was said that Dinler had “lost his mind about her and the situation”.
In September 2024, a man known by the pair and aware of the disagreements brought them together to apologise to one another “to try and resolve” the situation. CCTV images shown to jurors captured Mr Turhan drinking in a local pub late on November 18.
He was joined by Dinler, with “no evident hostility”, before the pair were then recorded walking to another bar nearby. It was inside there that Dinler is accused of inflicting a fatal stab wound to Cumali’s neck and cutting off the tip of his tongue and penis.
Ilie, from Hungary, who worked for Dinler “from time to time”, was later filmed arriving at the back of the bar at around 2.17am on November 19. Mr Paxton told jurors that Ilie went to the nearby barber shop, which was below where Dinler lived, in order to collect fresh clothes.
Just before 8.30am on November 19 the commercial bin that Cumali’s body had been placed in was emptied into a bin lorry and taken away. When examined by police, blood was found externally and confirmed to belong to Mr Turhan.
Dinler, meanwhile, was recorded getting on a train to Stratford, where he spent £25.50 at a cafe. He later returned to the same bar had earlier walked to with Mr Turhan where the prosecution said he worked a shift.
Later that same day, he was spotted on CCTV that same day at Stansted Airport, where he travelled to Istanbul without any luggage. The court heard that Ilie was arrested by Essex Police at 12.09pm on November 20 after he had spoken to workers at the Sanctus homeless charity.
The bin was taken to a landfill site where specialist officers, having searched through 80 tonnes of waste, later made a discovery on January 11. Mr Paxton said: “Perhaps he realised that he had little option but to speak out, fearing that the truth would emerge with Cumali Turhan’s disappearance and Dinler’s documented disappearance out of Stansted Airport.
“Whilst he did not murder Cumali Turhan, his actions led to the body going to the dump, but also assisted Dinler in cleaning up the murder scene. These acts of assistance sought not just to help the killer but also sought to help hide the grisly murder that Dinler had committed.”
The trial continues.
