A KILLER was today beginning 36 years' hard labour for the murder of a Good Samaritan from Sussex.

Hakan Thomas Yagiz was sentenced in Turkey yesterday for killing former nurse Gill Montgomery, from St Leonards, in April, 1995.

The sentencing marks the end of a four-year battle to bring hairdresser Yagiz to justice.

Members of Mrs Montgomery's family flew to Istanbul with senior Sussex Police officers to hear for themselves as Yagiz, who has been in custody since 1996, was ordered to complete 36 years' hard labour in a Turkish jail.

Mrs Montgomery was a 53-year-old voluntary worker who continued caring for the sick at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, after retiring as a nurse.

She was found beaten and stabbed in a pool of blood at her home in Cloudsley Road, St Leonards, in April, 1995.

She was discovered lying on her kitchen floor after a neighbour called police to say water was pouring through the ceiling.

Apost mortem revealed she died from a single stab wound to the neck. Weeks later a coroner returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

Police launched a massive manhunt for her killer and revealed they believed she was the victim of a bogus water official who snapped when Gill caught him stealing her belongings.

He escaped with less than £100 from her flat.

Her family, including her daughter Nila, then 22, and brother Mike, then 50 and head of nearby Sidley Primary School, made an emotional appeal for help in catching her killer.

Then finally, murder squad detectives received a tip that 24-year-old Hakan Yagiz could be linked with the killing.

He was traced to Turkey, where he had fled to join the army. Police fought to win his extradition.

But Turkish officials resisted pressure from the Home Office and announced Yagiz would be tried in Turkey.

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