A man has been convicted of aiding in the killing of an individual whose body was discovered at a waste disposal site around two months after being disposed of in a garbage bin.
Ciprian Ilie, aged 44, has been found guilty of assisting a perpetrator and obstructing the proper burial of Cumali Turham, aged 46. Turham, who went missing after entering the Barista bar in Chemlsford on November 19, was eventually found at the Enovert waste site in Stanway, near Colchester, Essex, after a 47-day search.
Following Turham’s disappearance, Essex Police are actively searching for Ceyhan Dinler, aged 38, who allegedly stabbed Turham in the neck before leaving the UK from Stansted Airport on the same day Turham was reported missing.
During a two-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, it was revealed that Ilie, a Romanian national without a fixed address, was taken into custody at a homeless shelter. Ilie recounted being summoned to the Barista bar on Duke Street in Chelmsford in the early hours of November 19, only to find a gruesome scene with blood on the floor and a body in the corner.
Ilie further explained that he was coerced at knifepoint by Dinler to help move the body into a bin behind the bar, under threats to him and his girlfriend. CCTV footage captured Turham and Dinler leaving a pub and heading to Barista, after which Turham was never seen alive again. An inquest revealed that Turham had sustained multiple stab wounds before his demise, with certain body parts found at the bar.
The coroner identified the cause of death as stab wounds to the neck. Ilie, who occasionally worked for Dinler, expressed shock at the grisly scene and claimed to have been threatened by Dinler to assist in disposing of the body.
The discovery of Turham’s body at the landfill site marked the end of an extensive search effort by law enforcement, with Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe emphasizing the tragic impact on Turham’s family. The search operation at the landfill was noted to be particularly challenging, eventually leading to the recovery of Turham’s remains.
Sergeant Simon Gray, who supervised the search team, praised the dedication and perseverance of the officers involved in the operation, acknowledging the difficulties faced during the search process. Ilie is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday.
