Edenbridge murder: Takeaway worker jailed for life after killing disabled girlfriend
A thug convicted of murdering his disabled girlfriend after he viciously punched, kicked and stamped on her has been jailed for life. Huseyin Kalyoncu, a driver at an Edenbridge[1] takeaway, was told by a judge he will have to serve a minimum of 19 years before he can apply for parole for his "savage attack".
Jurors heard at the 33-year-old's trial in October[2] how Sonia Parker was left unconscious and dying on the living room floor of their home after he struck her with extreme force in a row over her use of WhatsApp. He later admitted that in the days before the sustained attack he had previously assaulted her out of jealousy over her social media use.
But despite 51-year-old Ms Parker being found to have suffered a total of 69 external injuries, some healing and including 24 fractures to her ribs, chest and back, as well as liver and spleen damage, Kalyoncu had told a 999 call handler that on that day he had "hit her a little". He was said to be "panicked, distressed, sweating and crying" when paramedics arrived at Ms Parker's maisonette in Styles Close, Four Elms, shortly after 8.15am on May 5 this year. She was lying face-up with extensive bruises "from head to toe", said prosecutor Eloise Marshall KC.
The Turkish Cypriot also told police at the scene that he had been "fighting and punching" the mum of two, before adding: "Actually, I am jealous of her.
"We are fighting before and I say to her 'Don't text anyone' and I lost control."
On his arrest, Kalyoncu replied "I know it is not good" but it was not until he was in custody that he learnt Ms Parker had died. Body-worn camera footage played in court showed Kalyoncu later crying in his cell at Tonbridge police station and asking "How I do this?" Kalyoncu, who came to the UK five years ago from Cyprus, met bus garage cleaner Ms Parker at Ozzy's takeaway where she also worked as a delivery driver.
They had only been together for "some months" before she died, the court heard, but Ms Parker was said to be "smitten" and had even proposed marriage in February. The relationship was also described as being initially positive, only to decline very quickly through Kalyoncu's "aggressive and overbearing" behaviour once he had moved in with Ms Parker.
She was described to the jury by her sister, Angelica Tsesmelis, as "friendly and super kind", as well as a "grafter" who worked despite her disabilities which had been caused by lack of oxygen at birth, a cyst on her brain, and a serious car crash last year. Although she had never met Kalyoncu, Ms Tsesmelis remembered a phone call from her sibling just a few weeks before the fatal attack in which she heard "just horrific" shouting and threats from someone she believed to be him.
She also recalled in her evidence how, on being told by police the tragic news that Ms Parker had died, she immediately "had a feeling" he was responsible.
The police investigation into her murder uncovered bank transfers and payments that suggested Ms Parker was being exploited financially and had spent thousands on her partner during their relationship, including buying him more than GBP1,000 worth of clothes from Sports Direct and JD Sports, as well as cannabis. Kalyoncu, in turn, would bombard her with abusive messages, often telling her to "f*** off" and "shut up", and branding her "stupid". He also sent images to his mother of his lover's injuries, admitting he had caused them, and threatened to strangle her.
A neighbour told the court that a "very friendly and kind" Ms Parker became "very quiet and wouldn't talk" after she had met her boyfriend.
Picture: Facebook
Another recalled a row over the couple's dog in which a "ranting and raving" Kalyoncu was said to have threatened his girlfriend he would "f***ing kill" her if the pet had been lost.
The court also heard that Ms Parker had also been seen with two black eyes, leading to a report being made two days before her murder by a fellow tenant to West Kent Housing Association of possible domestic violence. About an hour before he phoned for an ambulance, Kalyoncu rang a friend asking for help. He then made a video call to his mother at 7.51am, telling her that his girlfriend "wouldn't wake up" but had a pulse.
His 999 call, eventually made at 8.01am, was played in court. He told operators: "We were fighting and she went down. "I had a fight with my girlfriend, then I hit her a little, then she fell onto the floor and I need an ambulance."
Despite the efforts of paramedics, Ms Parker died at the scene from what was subsequently recorded as blunt-force trauma injuries to her head and torso.
A pathologist also concluded that some of her injuries had predated her death by about a month.
Before the start of his trial, Kalyoncu had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, accepting his actions had caused Ms Parker's death, but denied he had intended to kill her or cause really serious harm. Five jurors returned for the sentencing hearing today (December 11). Kalyoncu, who was assisted by a Turkish interpreter, sat impassively in the dock.
He has one previous conviction for theft in his homeland. Ms Marshall told the court that the victim had been particularly vulnerable due to both physical and learning disabilities, and was subjected not just to violence but also financial abuse, derogatory language and mental suffering.
She added that Kalyoncu's jealousy over Ms Parker speaking to other men led to her giving up her job and withdrawing from those worried for her welfare. But Ms Marshall accepted that although the violence she suffered occurred regularly, it appeared to lack premeditation.
Christopher Martin, defending, said while there had been an earlier assault on Ms Parker in the month before the fatal attack, there was insufficient evidence of extensive previous violence. He also told the court that there was no intent to kill, and remorse could be demonstrated in his 999 call, efforts to resuscitate her with CPR and his behaviour as shown in the body-worn camera footage.
Jailing Kalyoncu, Judge Julian Smith said the violence inflicted during the relationship was of "increasing regularity and apparent force" until the day he murdered her in a "brutal and senseless" way.
Describing Ms Parker as much-loved, generous and valiant, he told the court: "She lived the last few days and weeks of her life not in excitement and anticipation of a developing relationship but in pain and no doubt in anticipation of further assault and injury until, on May 5, Huseyin Kalyoncu finally beat her death. "A beating that not only involved striking an already injured woman repeatedly but also must have included savage kicking and stamping on her as she lay on the floor."
As to his efforts to help a dying Ms Parker, the judge said they were "belated and limited". Kalyoncu has served 219 days in custody on remand which will be deducted from his minimum jail term. Once released, he will be on licence for the rest of his life.
In a moving victim impact statement written on behalf of Ms Parker's family and read to the court, Ms Tsesmelis described Kalyoncu as having treated her younger sister like a "tortured animal".
She said: "Sonia's death has had a devastating effect on myself and my family both mentally and emotionally. My sisters are still unable to openly speak about her death without breaking down.
"We keep reminding ourselves she is in heaven in a better place with our father. But she was taken much too quickly and in a horrific way.
"I fail to understand why anyone would want to do this to my sister, especially in the way he tortured her in the lead up to her death, and that in a short space of time he built up so much hate and anger that he killed her. "He treated her like an animal, not someone he was in the honeymoon phase of a relationship with. "I constantly think of her and try to think of the things that make me smile so I don't have to think about the way she died.
"I'm finding it very difficult to focus and concentrate, with my mind wandering back onto a lot of 'what if' questions I have in my head, some of which torment me." Ms Tsesmelis added that the fact her sister was murdered "still did not seem true" and that her sons, one of who has his own learning difficulties, had struggled without their mum. But she concluded: "I really do hope that this day will bring some sort of closure to the horrific events of this year so we can all try to move on.
"Nothing will bring my little sister back.
We love her dearly and take solace that she is in peace in heaven."
References
- ^ Edenbridge (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ at the 33-year-old's trial in October (www.kentonline.co.uk)