A Turkish court has handed down an aggravated life sentence to a driver convicted over the death of 61-year-old British national Lisa Jane Di Palma in Fethiye, a popular holiday destination in the southwestern province of Muğla.
The incident occurred on August 6, 2025, at around 7:30 p.m. on Cahit Beğenç Boulevard in Fethiye’s Foça neighbourhood.
According to case reports, Di Palma was crossing the road when she was struck by a car driven by Şenay Koparal.
Driver was found to be over the legal alcohol limit
Following the incident, Koparal was found to have a blood alcohol level of 2.14 promille.
Investigators also determined that she initially gave police the identity of her sibling, Özgür Koparal. Koparal was subsequently arrested and remanded in custody.
The case took a much more serious turn because of what happened immediately after the initial collision.
According to evidence presented in the case, bystanders rushed to help Di Palma as she lay injured on the road. Koparal then moved the vehicle forward and drove over the injured woman.
People at the scene, including Di Palma’s husband, attempted to stop the vehicle. Footage of the incident was also reported to have been recorded on a mobile phone.
Lisa Jane Di Palma died one week later
Di Palma suffered serious injuries, including fractures to her hip and leg, and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Despite medical intervention, she died on August 13, 2025, one week after the incident.
The death led to criminal proceedings against Koparal that went beyond charges normally associated with a fatal traffic collision.
Court rules the killing was intentional
At the final hearing before the Fethiye 2nd High Criminal Court, Koparal attended proceedings via Turkey’s SEGBİS video-conferencing system from prison.
The court convicted her of intentional killing under aggravated circumstances, finding that the killing was committed in connection with an attempt to conceal an offence or avoid being caught.
She was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, one of the most severe penalties available under Turkish criminal law.
Driver denied intending to kill Di Palma
Koparal acknowledged that she had consumed alcohol but denied deliberately killing the British woman.
She reportedly told the court that she had intended to put the vehicle into reverse but accidentally selected a forward gear.
The court did not accept that account as sufficient to establish that what happened was merely an accidental traffic death.
Di Palma’s husband, Keith Anthony Di Palma, who travelled from the United Kingdom for the proceedings, described his efforts to stop the vehicle after his wife had been struck.
He said he stood in front of the car and hit the vehicle in an attempt to prevent the driver from moving forward.
He was reported to have become emotional after the court announced its verdict.
Case transformed from road collision into murder prosecution
The judgment is significant because the fatality was not ultimately treated simply as a death caused by drink-driving or negligent driving.
The court’s assessment of the driver’s actions after the initial collision changed the legal character of the case, resulting in a conviction for intentional killing and an aggravated life sentence.
