A WAITER accused of killing two Northern Irish women in Turkey pleaded his father’s innocence at a murder hearing in Turkey yesterday.
Turkish waiter Recep Cetin faced the third stage of his murder hearing at the Izmir Fifth High Criminal Court.
Also present was his father, Erup Cetin, who is accused by Turkish prosecutors of assisting in the double killing.
Recep Cetin (22) has already admitted to the killing of Marian Graham and Kathy Dinsmore, both aged 53, in August 2011.
Last December the case was adjourned by the court pending medical evidence to determine Cetin jnr’s age.
If found to be older than 18, he could be tried as an adult, and could receive a far higher sentence if found guilty.
The Turkish court decided Cetin jnr would undergo bone age assessment to identify his real age.
The results concluded his skeletal bone age to be 22.
As the case resumed yesterday the accused made a strong plea for the release of his father.
Under cross-examination by prosecution lawyer Baris Kaska, Cetin jnr said: “My father is innocent. You cannot find him in the CCTV footage. Please release my father, he is innocent.
“My father is in prison for one year all for nothing. I have six siblings; all of them are students.
“If there is a secret witness, I want him to come to trial and to be heard.”
Cetin jnr then went on to attack the prosecuting lawyer personally.
“This lawyer Baris Kaska is trying to make himself famous,” he said.
“He speaks to newspapers every day and posing for cameras.”
Mr Cetin snr also protested about his treatment. “I am innocent,” he said.
“I don’t have any connection with the event. I believe in justice but I was arrested after the secret witnesses testified at trial.
“I am in prison for 13 months for nothing. I demand my freedom because I am innocent.”
High security was in place during the 45-minute hearing, attended by the family of the two men.
The families of the Irish victims did not travel to Turkey to witness the proceedings.
The chief judge in the proceedings criticised the defence lawyer for representing both men involved.
He told Aydogan Yolyapan: “There is a conflict of interest here, you need to represent one client or the other.”
Mr Yolyapan withdrew as representative for Cetin jnr, but will continue to represent his father.
The two women’s bodies were found in woodland near a holiday resort where they were staying at Kusadasi, Turkey.
Ms Graham and her teenage daughter Shannon had regularly travelled using Irish passports to Turkey, where Shannon met Cetin jnr and started a relationship with him.
The pair were said to have been seeing each other over the 2½ years the family spent their summers in the resort.
Their relationship reportedly became strained after Cetin jnr put pressure on Shannon to marry him.
Neighbours reported a chaotic relationship, and said shouting between them could be heard late into the night.
In a bid to dissuade Cetin jnr from attempting to marry her daughter, Ms Graham is thought to have enlisted the help of her friend, Ms Dinsmore.
The pair reportedly agreed to accompany Cetin jnr on a shopping trip before, it is alleged, he drove them to woodlands and stabbed Ms Graham in the chest and cut Ms Dinsmore’s throat.
Police arrested him soon after the bodies were found and he confessed to the killings during an interview.
In December last year the case had been adjourned by the court pending DNA evidence to determine Cetin’s age.
During Cetin jnr’s first hearing in December last year, his father had condemned his actions.
Mr Cetin snr had said: “I wish he was dead, not them. We are sad, but the victims are the ones who enticed him.”
The case was adjourned until November 9th.