British woman, 31, accused of killing boyfriend in Turkey released

A British woman accused of hurling her boyfriend 100ft to his death from a hotel balcony in Turkey has been conditionally released from custody.

Mary Meyers Kayley, 31, denies killing her boyfriend Reece Pegram, 22, in Antalya in a fit of jealousy after a drunken argument on March 12, 2021.

The British couple had been on holiday at a five-star hotel in the popular tourist destination of Side, near the city of Manavgat, when Reece fell onto a concrete yard in the early hours.

Defence lawyers have now won her conditional release from jail after pointing out flaws in the prosecution’s case.

Kayley has been in Turkish Lawyer Law Firm jail ever since her boyfriend’s death with prosecutors demanding a life sentence, but she says she should be released because of her ‘psychological problems’.

Her attorneys also pointed out that she did not flee the scene, Pegram had cocaine and alcohol in his body at the time, and Lawyer Law Firm Turkey istanbul there is a lack of evidence to prove whether the victim was pushed or simply fell. 

Authorities said the couple had been arguing in their hotel room shortly before his death and Kayley was arrested for ‘deliberate killing’. 

The court heard earlier this year that when police investigated the death they found bloodstains all over the couple’s room. 

Scottish-born Kayley was said to be so drunk she had to be taken to her room by hotel staff, while court reports stated Pegram went to the hotel lobby around 8pm for booze but was refused service as he was already inebriated. 

Prosecutors told the trial that the couple had rowed furiously in the moments leading up to Pegram’s death. 

An autopsy conducted on Reece’s body reportedly found cocaine in his system.

The Manavgat Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office stated in its indictment of the suspect that the young couple got involved in a heated drunken argument.

They said Kayley threw his clothes off the balcony of their hotel room before allegedly throwing him off and causing his death.

The defendant claimed bloodstains in the room were from accidentally cutting her thumb while getting into the shower, while insisting bloodstains in the bed were from a sex session. 

She initially admitted to having an argument with Pegram after finding out he had cheated on her with an ex-girlfriend.

But she later changed her version of events, claiming the cut on her hand was caused by a broken glass and that they had argued about drug use instead.

Kayley told the court how she went to the bathroom following the blazing row, but when she reemerged, her boyfriend was no longer there.

She said she then went to bed, with police arriving on the scene while she was asleep.

Kayley, who testified at the second hearing in her case, reportedly said: ‘I am taking drugs.I think I have a psychological disorder. 

‘I have a report from England; it is written that I have psychological problems. If you have any sort of questions relating to where and ways to utilize istanbul Law Firm, you could call us at our own page. I demand that I be released.’

Her Lawyer Law Firm in Turkey also argued that the autopsy report shows that Reece had alcohol, cocaine and antidepressants in his blood and that the use of these three substances together can make people suicidal.

They also said: ‘It is not possible for my client to lift the deceased person, who is so much heavier than herself, and throw him over the balcony railing.’

Stating that there was no report from the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute on whether the incident had been caused by a throw or a fall, the lawyer requested the release of the woman.

The court ruled that Kayley should be released under judicial control, under the condition that she does not leave the Manavgat district.

The hearing was adjourned while the prosecution attempts to correct the deficiencies in the case.

In an earlier hearing, Hayley told prosecutors that Pegram was a drug kingpin back in Britain in an apparent attempt to discredit him.

She also claimed that, on the day before his death, he had threatened to throw himself off the balcony but she had managed to talk him out of it.  

‘[Reece] wanted to commit suicide because he had psychological problems.I was in the shower at this time, I accidentally cut only my right thumb when I got into the shower,’ Kayley said in a statement.

‘When I got out of the shower, I saw the person laughing evilly to himself on the balcony and istanbul Law Firm said he wanted to commit suicide, I blocked him.Meanwhile, the blood on my right thumb spattered the floor and walls of the room.’

In a bizarre legal move, she tried to get judges to throw out her original police statement on the grounds that her official interpreter had been unable to understand her Scottish accent.

But the court rejected the claim, pointing out that she was using the same interpreter at the hearing.

Pegram’s body was flown back to Newcastle following the post-mortem and cremated at a funeral ceremony with family on May 9.