A dramatic 999 call has revealed the moment a father was reported missing, before his naked and mutilated body was discovered at a landfill site seven weeks later.
Cumali Turhan had last been seen in a pub in Chelmsford, Essex, on November 19, 2024 – and the alarm was raised when the 46-year-old failed to show up to work.
A new Channel 4 documentary called ‘Catching a Killer: Buried Truths’ on tomorrow at 9pm has for the first time revealed the concerned call a friend made to police.
The 999 operator is heard saying: ‘Essex Police, what’s your emergency?’ – and a man then replies in broken English: ‘We have a friend but from last night ’til now, we can’t hear about him. We keep asking everyone, but nobody’s seen him.’
Officers feared Mr Turhan, who was well-known within the Turkish community in the town, had been murdered. But another 45 days passed before they found his body on January 11 last year, some 20 miles away at the Enovert landfill site in Stanway.
The search involved 1,650 officer shifts in ten separate locations and is thought to be the first time an active police search of a landfill site in the UK has recovered a body.
Mr Turhan’s suspected killer Ceyhan Dinler, 38, has never been found – and left the UK via Stansted Airport on November 19, the day Mr Turhan was reported missing.
Homeless man Ciprian Ilie, 44, was jailed for seven years last October after being found guilty of assisting an offender and preventing the lawful burial of Mr Turham.
During the trial, the court heard Mr Turhan had allegedly ‘had a relationship with Mr Dinler’s girlfriend’ and there was an ‘ongoing and simmering issue’ between the men.
Cumali Turhan, 46, had last been seen in a pub in Chelmsford, Essex, on November 19, 2024
Police found Mr Turhan’s body on January 11 last year at the Enovert landfill site in Stanway
Mr Turhan is thought to have been in the Barista bar on Duke Street after being at The Globe pub on Rainsford Road. CCTV did not show him leaving Barista.
Jurors were told during Ilie’s three-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court that the tip of Mr Turhan’s tongue and his genitals were severed during an attack inside Barista.
Tottenham Hotspur fan Mr Turhan was fatally stabbed in the neck after being mutilated, prosecutors believe.
The tip of Mr Turhan’s tongue and his penis were later found in a bin – and the victim’s body was dumped in a different commercial bin behind the bar.
That second bin was later collected by refuse services and unknowingly transported to the landfill site.
Mr Turhan was reported missing to police on the evening of November 19 after he did not arrive at work.
Ilie was arrested at a homeless shelter in Chelmsford after confessing what had happened to a worker, who called police.
He later told detectives he received a call in the early hours of November 19 to go to Barista. Ilie said he got there and found blood on the floor and a body in the corner.
Ceyhan Dinler (pictured) is still wanted in connection with the disappearance of Cumali Turhan
Dinler left via Stansted Airport on November 19, the day Mr Turhan was reported missing
He claimed he was threatened with a knife before being forced to help pick up the body and put it in a bin at the back of the venue.
Ilie additionally told officers that both he and his girlfriend had been threatened, and that he therefore did what he was ordered to do.
Mr Turhan’s former partner, and mother of his young daughter, told the court that ‘he mattered’ and she worried about the ‘lifelong impact it will have on my daughter’s life’.
She also said she was haunted by the ‘psychological pain’ of how he was ‘thrown away and discarded like he didn’t matter’.
After sentencing Ilie, Judge Morgan said Mr Turhan’s body was found thanks to a combination of the ‘tenacity’ of police searching the landfill site, as well as combing through CCTV footage and building trust with the Turkish community in Chelmsford.
Bar worker Dinler is believed to have fled to Turkey, but coroner Michelle Brown said at Mr Turhan’s inquest last September that his current whereabouts were unknown.
Ciprian Ilie (pictured) was found guilty of assisting an offender and preventing a lawful burial
The search at the Enovert landfill site in Stanway involved 1,650 officer shifts in ten locations
Cumali Turhan was said to have been well-known within the Turkish community in Chelmsford
Essex Police still want to speak to Dinler in connection with the death and said they were working with the Crown Prosecution Service in an attempt to achieve this.
Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe said: ‘Throughout this extremely challenging investigation every officer and member of staff involved was committed to finding Cumali and securing justice for him and his loved ones.
‘At the heart of this case is a father who lost his life in truly horrific circumstances and a young daughter who must grow up without him.
‘We never lost sight of this, and we are resolute in our determination to ensure our main suspect in this case is also brought before the courts.’
Police Sergeant Simon Gray, who was also involved in the search, added: ‘I hope this documentary shows people the dedication and commitment of everyone involved in that search.
‘We were faced with an incredibly challenging environment and often poor weather conditions, which hampered this sensitive and intricate work. It was never lost on us that we needed to find Cumali and bring him home to his family.’
Catching a Killer: Buried Truths airs and streams on Channel 4 on January 6 at 9pm
