Nearly two years after beloved London-based DJ Koray Alpergin's murder, the case is still ongoing. Half a dozen men have already been convicted, and several others are currently on trial, in connection to the 2022 kidnapping and murder of Alpergin and his girlfriend, who survived the ordeal.
The case began on October 14, 2022 when police received a report that Alpergi and his girlfriend Gozde Dalbudak, 34, were missing from their home address in Ebony Crescent, Enfield and had not been seen since the night before, Essex Live reported at the time. Police later determined that the pair were kidnapped at gunpoint and forced into a white van outside their home. As the case unfolded, per Metro, it was revealed that Alpergin and Dalbudak were kidnapped and "frog-marched" into a white van before being transported to the Stadium Lounge, a Turkish restaurant. While Dalbudak was later located and said to be "physically unharmed," on October 15, 2022, Alpergin 's body was discovered in an Essex woodland near an industrial estate.
According to prosecutors, during their ordeal, Godze was locked inside a bathroom for two days while Alpergin was tortured and killed. A post mortem examination conducted a day after Alpergin 's body was discovered "identified 94 separate visible injuries," according to prosecutor Crispin Aylett KC. Among the injuries Alpergin sustained were "cuts and bruises to the scalp, two black eyes," a fracture to his left eye socket, injuries to the nose and mouth, "and evidence of scalding and bruising mainly to the arms." Aylett told the jury that the medical examiner also found "a number of injuries including scalding and a puncture wound to the hands, injuries to the chest and back... consistent with having been caused by something like by a baseball bat, injuries to the thighs, legs and penetrating wounds to the soles of the feet." Alpergin 's body also showed "extensive bruising to the scalp tissues... consistent with Koray Alpergin having sustained some traumatic injury, such as being struck on the back of the head," as well as injuries "involving possible strangulation with some form of ligature." He also sustained "14 fractures to the rib cage."
"Mercifully, Dr Swift considers that Mr Alpergin could not have survived these injuries by more than a few hours, no more than six at the most- and it may well be that death came much more quickly than that," Aylett said.
It is unclear when exactly Alpergin was killed, "but it seems likely to have been early on the morning of Friday, October 14," according to Aylett. Immediately following his murder, it is believed two men took the van to Markfield Park, where they set it on fire. According to the prosecution, 26-year-old Ali Kavak was seen clearing out the back seats of his Polo before putting Alpergin's body inside. The Polo arrived outside a rented industrial unit on the nearby Triumph Trading Estate at 6:40 a.m., and at 3.30 p.m. a Renault Megane was driven off the estate to travel to Loughton, Essex, where the body was dumped.
The case is still ongoing, with several men having already been convicted and others on trial. Tejean Kennedy, 33, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars and Ali Kavak, 26, to 13 years after they were found guilty of manslaughter, kidnap and false imprisonment, the BBC reported. Kavak was also convicted of perverting the course of justice. Samuel Owusu-Opoku, 35, was jailed for seven years afterhe was found guilty of two counts of kidnap, while Steffan Gordon, 34, was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment after he admitted kidnap and was found guilty of two counts of false imprisonment. Yigit Hurman, 18, was sentenced to two years in jail after he admitted perverting the course of justice. Isay Stoyanov, 43, and Dylan Weatherley, 20, meanwhile, are currently on trial and deny murdering Alpergin and two counts of false imprisonment. Another suspect, 28-year-old Ali Yildirim, who is thought to have fled back to Turkey after the killing, is being sought by police.
While Aylett said "the prosecution do not know who actually killed Koray Alpergin nor do they know who it was who participated in the violence that was inflicted" Alpergin, "anyone who was a party to the kidnap and false imprisonment of Mr Alpergin must have been party to a plan that he suffer at least really serious bodily harm, if not death. In law, this is known as a joint venture, in other words, they were all in it together, even if a number of them played different roles in carrying out the plan."