October 14, 2025
Chris Paxton KC and Steven Ball have concluded proceedings in a case following the murder of Mr Cumali Turhan in Chelmsford. In a significant milestone, it is believed Essex Police became the first UK force to successfully recover a murder victim’s body from a landfill site.
Mr Turhan was fatally stabbed in November 2024. Following the attack, his naked body was placed in a commercial waste bin behind Barista Bar in Chelmsford, which was later collected and transported to a landfill site. Subsequently, a forensic search operation of unprecedented scale followed, which included the deployment of specialist teams to investigate and involved a search spanning 46 days.
Following trial and his conviction, Mr Ciprian Ilie was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court on 14 October 2025 for assisting an offender and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body.
The primary suspect, Ceyhan Dinler, fled to Turkey following the incident and is currently at large.
RLC members were instructed by Nicola Rice CPS Complex Case Unit, CPS Eastern Region.
RLC counsel:
Chris Paxton KC: [Christopher Paxton KC Profile]
Steven Ball: [Steven Ball Profile ]
News stories:
[ITV News]
[BBC News]
[Sky News]
[LBC]
