Three jailed after 'horrific' killing of DJ

Three men have been jailed following the kidnap and killing of a Turkish radio DJ who was "horrifically tortured" by an organised crime gang.

Mehmet Koray Alpergin, 43, who owned a Turkish radio station, and his girlfriend, Gozde Dalbudak, were bundled into the back of a van as they returned home from a night out at a restaurant in Mayfair, central London, in October 2022.

A post-mortem found Mr Alpergin had suffered 94 separate injuries before his body was found dumped in woodland in Essex.

Dylan Weatherley, 20, from Tottenham, Kyrie Mitchell-Peart, 33, from Barnet and Isay Stoyanov, 44, who is also from Tottenham, were sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

At a previous trial four other men were convicted for their roles and two more suspects are said to be still at large.

Father-of-two Mr Alpergin, originally from northern Cyprus, owned a Turkish-language radio station in London, Bizim FM, and was a well-known and popular figure within the Turkish community in the UK.

His car had earlier been fitted with a tracking device in a pre-planned operation by members of the Tottenham Turks organised crime group, the court heard.

Prosecutors said his captors thought Mr Alpergin may have known the whereabouts of either drugs or money.

The couple were both taken to a wine bar at White Hart Lane where Ms Dalbudak, 32, was locked in a lavatory for two days and had to listen as Mr Alpergin was tortured to death in a different room.

His injuries were said to be consistent with being beaten with a baseball bat and having boiling water poured over him.

Weatherley was sentenced to five years for the manslaughter of Mr Alpergin with concurrent sentences of five years for his kidnap and false imprisonment.

During the trial, he was said to have been part of a group of eight men who had driven in a Volkswagen Polo to the scene of the kidnap.

The court heard Weatherley had already been sentenced on 7 May at Harrow Crown Court to detention for life with a minimum term of 16 years on a separate charge of conspiracy to murder.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett KC said the offence involved a man being shot in the chest in Enfield, north London in January 2023 and that it was suggested this case was also linked to the Tottenham Turks.

Judge Sarah Whitehouse said Weatherley's sentence would be served consecutively to that life sentence.

Mitchell-Peart was sentenced to six years and four months after pleading guilty before his trial to the false imprisonment of Mr Alpergin and his girlfriend and four years for their kidnap.

The court heard he drove a van to the scene of their abduction.

Stoyanov was sentenced also to 18 months imprisonment for perverting the course of justice.

He was found to have taken part in the clean up inside the Stadium Lounge where Mr Alpergin was held and where police found buckets and mops and bottles of bleach.

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