Drunk driver who killed Brit mum on Turkey anniversary trip jailed for life as widower sobs ‘nothing can bring her back’

A HUSBAND who tried to lift a car off his stricken wife when she was killed by a drunk driver in Turkey wept as her killer was sentenced to life with no parole on Tuesday. Lisa’s Di Palma’s devastated husband cried: “Nothing can bring back the woman I loved more than life itself.” Keith Di Palma reportedly broke down in tears as his wife’s killer was sentence to life without parole Credit: The Sun Lisa Di Palma, 61, was fatally struck by the car while walking across a pedestrian crossing in in Fethiye, Turkey Credit: SWNS The pair were on holiday in Turkey when the tragedy happened Keith Di Palma and his two daughters, Charlotte, right, and Danielle, left Heartbroken Keith, 57, was on holiday with Lisa to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary when she was hit by Turkish national Senay Koparal, 54, who was five times over the drink-drive limit. The couple were walking on a pedestrian crossing on their way to enjoy a meal on the turquoise coastline in Fethiye, in southwestern Turkey, shortly after 7.30pm on August 6 last year. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! After battling for her life in hospital, Lisa passed away. Poignantly, August 13 will be the one-year anniversary of her death. Witnesses said that Koparal attempted to flee the scene in the popular holiday resort but in doing so ran her over again as Keith desperately tried to push the car back with his bare hands. The Sun can also reveal that Koparal had already been jailed for killing a man 17 years earlier—but had been released to kill again. Speaking from Turkey last night, Keith and the couple’s two daughters, Charlotte, 32, and Danielle, 35, said they were relieved that “justice had been done.” Keith, a lorry driver from Hornchurch, east London, added: “I am grateful that the truth was heard and that Lisa’s life was valued. Most read in The Sun “But no verdict, no sentence will ever fill the empty space that Lisa has left behind. Koparal may have been handed a sentence today—but the true punishment falls on us, the family he destroyed. “We are the ones who have to live every day without her.” Keith described Koparal’s actions as “deliberate, cruel and unforgivable”. Lisa suffered multiple injuries in the horrific incident Lisa, who was the secretary of the Tigers Junior Football Club, is said to have dedicated her life to others He said: “He was drunk, driving at speed, and when he struck Lisa he did not stop. “He drove over her, reversed, and drove over her again—all to try and escape. “I saw her body go under the car. I shouted to my wife to tuck her head in because the tyres were going to go over her head. “The front of the car went over her, the bonnet had gone over her, and I lost sight of her. “That was not a mistake. That was murder.” The beloved grandmother-of-four remained conscious and able to talk in the aftermath of the tragedy and was rushed to a local hospital before being transferred to Mugla Teaching and Research Hospital. She had suffered bleeding in her lungs and brain, fractures to her pelvis, shoulders, and skull, 12 broken ribs, as well as signs of kidney failure and a burn on her leg from the car. She died on August 13, having been moved to the Letoon Private Hospital for surgery. Keith told how he and the couple’s daughters were prevented from saying goodbye to Lisa in the ward. Instead, hospital staff “wheeled her out in a body bag” and unzipped it so they could see her for the last time. Lisa’s cause of death was given as multiple injuries due to a road traffic collision. Koparal, who showed no emotion as he was jailed for the rest of his life, was convicted of shooting and killing a 62-year-old farmer in June 2008. He shot Yusuf Koyuncu in the head and chest in front of his horrified daughter and two daughters-in-law after the farmer stopped Koparal’s teenage sisters from picking thyme in his fields, according to Turkish news reports from the time. After being jailed for that crime, he escaped in April 2017 and remained on the run for 16 months before he was recaptured. It was unclear when he left prison, but Turkey released thousands of convicts on parole during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a tribute to his wife following the sentence, Keith said: “My darling wife, my love, my life. “I will love you until my last breath. You are and always will be my heart, my soul, and my world. Rest peacefully, my angel. We will never forget you.” Comment now