Turkey stab victims to be buried today

Two women stabbed to death as they holidayed in Turkey are to be buried in the North today.

Marion Graham and Cathy Dinsmore, both aged 53, were murdered in woods 75 miles north of the resort of Kusadasi last Thursday.

A Turkish waiter, Recep Cetin, the prime suspect in the double murder, was the boyfriend of Ms Graham’s 15-year-old daughter Shannon.

Reports that he attacked the women after being refused permission to marry the teen have caused widespread shock.

The funerals for the murder victims, to be held in separate churches near their homes in the Newry area of Co Down, have been timed to allow their grieving families to attend both services.

The two women were close friends and were on an extended stay in Turkey when the stabbings took place.

Their bodies were flown into Dublin airport on Wednesday and Shannon was among friends and family who accompanied the hearses on their sombre journey home.

Marion Graham’s funeral mass will be held at 11am in St Mary’s Church in Newry.

The funeral of Cathy Dinsmore will be held at 2pm in St Peter’s Church in the nearby town of Warrenpoint.

The chief suspect in their murder may be held in prison until the end of Ramadan after a prosecutor was appointed to oversee charges.

It is likely the suspect, whose true age is not known, will be held in custody for at least another week as the Islamic holy month ends on August 30.