September 5th 2024.
Mehmet Koray Alpergin was a well-respected and beloved member of London's Turkish community. He was known for his successful ownership of a Turkish radio station and his kind spirit. However, his life took a tragic turn when he and his girlfriend, Gozde Dalbudak, were kidnapped and taken on a terrifying journey that would ultimately lead to Mehmet's brutal murder.
It all started one evening in October 2022, when Mehmet and Gozde were enjoying a lovely dinner at a restaurant in Mayfair. Little did they know, they were being watched by a group of gang members. These individuals then forcibly took the couple and threw them into a van. Gozde was locked in a bathroom for two days while she listened to her boyfriend being mercilessly beaten in the Stadium Lounge, a nearby wine bar.
The extent of Mehmet's injuries was truly horrific, with a total of 94 separate injuries found on his body. It was clear that he had been tortured in the most brutal ways, such as being beaten with a baseball bat and scalded with hot water. His lifeless body was later found in a woodland area in Essex. Gozde, on the other hand, was lucky enough to be set free. She immediately returned to Turkey, having only arrived in the UK for the first time just three days before the incident.
The main suspect in Mehmet's murder was Dylan Weatherley, a 20-year-old from Tottenham, north London. Although he was cleared of murder by a jury, he was found guilty of manslaughter, kidnapping, and false imprisonment. He was sentenced to five years in jail, which would be added to his existing life sentence for another crime. Kyrie Mitchell-Peart, a 33-year-old from Barnet, and Isay Stoyanov, a 44-year-old from Seven Sisters, were also convicted for their involvement in the kidnapping and were given jail sentences of six years and four months and 18 months, respectively.
The court heard that Mehmet was a prominent figure in the Turkish community, and his captors believed that he had knowledge of drugs or money. This led to a plot orchestrated by the Tottenham Turks crime group. The group had gone to great lengths to ensure that Mehmet was in their custody, including fitting his car with a tracking monitor. The night of the kidnapping, eight men drove in two vehicles to the scene. Dylan Weatherley was in one car, but Isay Stoyanov was not in either of the vehicles. However, he was later found to have been involved in the clean-up at the Stadium Lounge.
After a separate trial, four more men were convicted of their roles in Mehmet's murder. However, two additional suspects were still at large and believed to have fled abroad. It was a tragic and senseless crime that deeply affected the entire Turkish community in London. Mehmet's radio station, Bizim FM, which aimed to bring the community together, was left with a void that could never be filled. His memory will always be cherished, and justice was served for his untimely and brutal death.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
