Turkey murders: Northern Ireland family fly out to comfort daughter

A 17-year-old Turkish waiter who wanted to marry victim’s daughter has confessed to the murder of the two women The family of a Northern Irish woman stabbed to death with her best friend in Turkey are travelling to the country to comfort her teenage daughter. Marion Elizabeth Graham and Kathy Dinsmore, both aged 53, from Newry, County Down, were found murdered in woods near the port city of Izmir on Thursday. A 17-year-old Turkish waiter has confessed to the murder of the two women following a row with Graham after she refused his proposal to marry her 15-year-old daughter Shannon. Graham’s son, and her ex-partner Raymond McGuinness, the father of Shannon, has flown to Turkey to bring the girl home, with her mother’s body and that of her friend. The two women were found after Graham’s daughter reported that she had failed to turn up for a planned boat trip off the resort of Kusadasi. They suffered multiple stab wounds, including having their throats cut. McGuinness said he had never been fully in favour of the relationship since the two teenagers began going out last summer. “There was always something that was not quite right,” he said. The waiter, known to the family as Alex, is believed to have worked in a Kusadasi restaurant where both the Graham and Dinsmore families often ate during their holidays. After a police interrogation he is alleged to have told detectives that he lured the two women into the area promising them a tour of Izmir. Local reports said the teenager claimed he decided to kill the women because Graham was standing in the way of his marriage to her daughter. Earlier he had claimed that en route to taking the women to a local shopping centre his car had been blocked on a road by another vehicle and the three of them had been kidnapped. He told police that the next thing he could remember was waking up near his house. McGuinness said: “He told Shannon that he had tried to stop the kidnappers and he had a cut on his hand and that’s how he suffered it.” It is understood the waiter had been involved in a separate row with Shannon’s mother last week. Graham’s sister, Monica Higgins, said the family was devastated by the double murder. “It’s absolutely devastating. We’ve just found out. My mother’s in the car crying her eyes out,” she said. “We’re trying to work with the Irish department of foreign affairs to find out what exactly happened to her.” In a statement, members of the Dinsmore also family spoke of their sorrow. “John and George Dinsmore are devastated by the tragic death of their beloved sister Kathy Dinsmore while on holiday in Turkey,” it said. “The Dinsmore family are grateful for the many condolences that they have received and appeal for privacy during this difficult time.” Northern Ireland Turkey Europe Ireland Crime guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.