A man has been found guilty of the horrific kidnapping, torture, and murder of popular DJ Mehmet Koray Alpergin in Tottenham.
The Crime
Mehmet Koray Alpergin, 43, and his girlfriend, Gozde Dalbudak, were abducted as they returned home from an Italian restaurant in Mayfair in October 2022. They were taken to an empty wine bar near Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Mr. Alpergin was subjected to brutal torture. He was beaten, throttled, scalded with boiling water, stabbed, maimed, and horrifically violated before his body was dumped in woodland near the Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate in Loughton. Ms. Dalbudak, 34, spent two days locked in a toilet before being freed by her captors and given money for a taxi.
The Investigation
A post-mortem examination revealed 94 separate injuries on Mr. Alpergin’s body. The prosecution alleged that the killing bore “all the hallmarks” of serious organized crime and the world of drugs. Mr. Alpergin, originally from Northern Cyprus, owned a Turkish language radio station in London, Bizim FM, and was a well-known figure within the Turkish community in the UK.
The Trial
Jurors were told that eight men had driven in two vehicles to the scene of the kidnapping. The group knew Mr. Alpergin’s Audi was on its way to Enfield from Mayfair because it had been fitted with a tracking device.
Dylan Weatherley, 20, of Beaufoy Road in Tottenham, was found guilty of Mr. Alpergin’s manslaughter, kidnap, and false imprisonment but cleared of offences relating to Ms. Dalbudak’s abduction. Bulgarian painter and decorator Isay Stoyanov, 44, of Remington Road in Tottenham, was convicted of perverting the course of justice. Kyrie Mitchell-Peart, 32, of Harringay Road in Tottenham, had previously pleaded guilty to the kidnap and false imprisonment of Mr. Alpergin and Ms. Dalbudak.
Sentencing
Weatherley, Stoyanov, and Mitchell-Peart will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on September 5.
Previous Convictions
Following a separate trial last year, four more men were convicted for their roles in the crime. Tejean Kennedy, 33, of Cricklewood Broadway, and Ali Kavak, 26, of De Quincey Road, Tottenham, were found guilty of the kidnap and false imprisonment of the couple and Mr. Alpergin’s manslaughter. Samuel Owusu-Opoku, 36, of Dunbar Road in Wood Green, was found guilty of two counts of kidnap, while Steffan Gordon, 35, of Dehavilland Close in Northolt, admitted kidnap and was found guilty of two counts of false imprisonment.
Kavak was also convicted of perverting the course of justice by helping to dispose of Mr. Alpergin’s body and destroying two vehicles by fire. Owusu-Opoku admitted the charge. Yigit Hurman, 19, of Audley Close, Muswell Hill, admitted perverting the course of justice. All five men previously convicted have been jailed.
Ongoing Investigation
Two more suspects are still at large and are believed to have fled abroad. Detective Chief Inspector Matt Webb, who led the investigation, expressed gratitude for the support from Mr. Alpergin’s family throughout the investigation. “Although a number of men were convicted last year, we continued to pursue others we believed were accountable for the serious violence inflicted on Koray and worked to bring them to justice. It has been a long journey for Koray’s family, and our thoughts remain with them today,” he said.
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