The tragic incident, reminiscent of a gangster B movie of the 1950s, that occurred in downtown Fethiye on the afternoon of 14th July 2010 was finally concluded last week when three men were sentenced.

The incident took place in a take-away roast chicken shop in the middle of the afternoon, when the previous owner, Ali Şen, arrived to demand money owed to him for the purchase of the business.

The then owner, Ramazan Başyarar, and his son Hilmi, who also worked in the shop, began negotiating with Şen and were quickly joined by two men to whom Şen owed money: Bayram Büyükpabuşçu and Ismail Manav.

Şen allegedly produced a hand gun and began to shoot, and according to local reports firing a total of 16 bullets – he reloaded in the middle of all this.

By the time he fled the scene in a car, Ramazan and Hilmi were dead, and Bayram and Ismail were rushed to the State Hospital where Ismail also later died.

At midnight that night police tracked down Şen and arrested him still in possession of the illegal handgun.

He was remanded in custody.

The case finally came to the Fethiye court on 16th October.

Appearing in court the defendant, Ali Şen, told the story of how debt lay behind the killings.

One of the victims owed money to Şen, who in turn owed money to another of the men he killed.

Şen claimed that, when he turned up at the chicken restaurant to demand his money, the father and son whom he went on to kill, both swore at him.

He admitted owning an unlicensed gun which he carried with him ‘from time to time’.

Şen’s testimony took all day and the judge finally adjourned the case.

That court case took place last week and the court sentenced the three men to a total of 85 years in jail for the killing.