Beth Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, flew to Turkey with her husband and their two children for what was meant to be a dream getaway – but became delirious on arrival and died the following day
A bombshell report has revealed the supposed cause of death of a British mum who died suddenly on a family holiday in Turkey – where she had her heart removed without her family’s permission, her devastated loved ones claim.
Beth Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, had flown out to Turkey on April 27 with her husband Luke and their two children, aged eight and five, for what was meant to be a dream getaway. But within 24 hours of arriving, she became delirious and was rushed to hospital. Despite being moved into intensive care, she tragically died the next day, on April 28.
Now, weeks later, a forensic report has revealed the supposed cause of her sudden death. The findings, published by Turkey’s Forensic Medicine Institution and reported by local outlet Sozcu, claim Beth died as a result of food poisoning and its complications, and found “no evidence” of traumatic injury.
The report, published by the Forensic Medicine Institution, said: “It has been concluded that Martin’s death occurred as a result of food poisoning and its complications.” It added that a full examination of Beth’s heart had been completed, and that tissue samples from the heart are being handed back to UK authorities today.
On the day Beth was admitted to hospital, her husband, Luke Martin, was allegedly banned from seeing his wife and given little to no information about her condition. He was then accused of poisoning her by Turkish police and subjected to interrogation – though later cleared of any wrongdoing.
“To top it off, I had to break the news to my babies that their mum isn’t coming home. It broke me,” Luke wrote on social media. “Two weeks ago, me, my wife and two kids set out for a family holiday to Turkey. Only three of us made it back. I lost my wife, my children lost their mum, we lost the biggest piece of the puzzle that was our family.”
According to a GoFundMe page set up by relatives, the Martin family were left in the dark about the severity of Beth’s condition and were forced to carry her body in a bag through the hospital. When told it could take more than two weeks to repatriate her remains, Luke paid thousands of pounds to bring her body back on the same flight as his.
Doctors are understood to have raised concerns about Beth’s heart before her death, but her loved ones say they were not made aware of what was happening. A UK post-mortem later confirmed her heart had been removed in Turkey without permission, according to her loved ones.
Luke has since described the ordeal as “the worst and most traumatic week of [his] entire life”, adding that the loss of his wife has left the family shattered beyond words.