Death of the Insect Family and the Investigation Process

The Death of the Böcek Family is the incident that occurred in November 2025 in the Fatih district of Istanbul, in which a family of four died under suspicion of poisoning. Servet Böcek, who arrived in Istanbul from Germany on 9 November 2025, along with his wife Çiğdem Böcek and their children Kadir Muhammet (6) and Masal Böcek (3), stayed at the Harbour Suites Old City Hotel in Fatih.

On the morning of 12 November, the family went to the hospital with complaints of nausea and vomiting. After initial treatment, they returned to the hotel. That same night, the family again became severely ill and were taken to the hospital by ambulance; the children died on 13 November, the mother on 14 November, and the father on 17 November 2025.

Following the incident, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched a comprehensive investigation. As part of the inquiry, the hotel was sealed, and a total of 11 suspects were taken into custody, including staff from food establishments and the pest control company. Some of these individuals were arrested on charges of “causing the death of multiple persons and injury to one person through negligence.”

Symptoms of Poisoning and Hospital Course

On the morning of 12 November, the Böcek family went to the hospital by taxi due to nausea and vomiting. Under the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, taxi camera footage of the family’s journey was obtained. The footage showed the father seated in the front passenger seat, while the mother and children were in the back. One of the children was seen vomiting into a bag handed to him by his mother, and all family members were observed intermittently losing consciousness and falling asleep during the ride. After examination and treatment, the family returned to the hotel.

Around 01:00 on 13 November, the family became ill again. Security camera footage from the hotel showed Servet Böcek attempting to open the locked hotel door while holding his child, with bystanders assisting from outside, an ambulance waiting in front of the hotel, and the door being opened from the outside. The family was then transported to the hospital by ambulance summoned to the hotel. Despite medical intervention, both children died the same day.

Çiğdem Böcek, who was treated at Taksim Education and Research Hospital, died on 14 November. Servet Böcek died on 17 November 2025 at Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşcıoğlu City Hospital. In a statement posted on his social media account, Istanbul Provincial Health Director Abdullah Emre Güner said: “Following illness in Fatih, our two children and their mother have passed away, and despite all interventions, father Servet Böcek also lost his life.”

Two other tourists staying at the same hotel during the same period were also treated at the same hospital for nausea and vomiting. A third person present at the hotel as a companion was admitted to the hospital for tests due to abnormally low heart rate.

Investigation Process and Sealing of the Hotel

Following the incident, police conducted an inspection at the hotel where the Böcek family had stayed. As a result of the investigation, the hotel was evacuated and guests were relocated to other hotels. On 16 November 2025, the hotel was sealed by Fatih Municipality teams.

Initially, the hotel owner H.O., the lokum vendor F.T., the kokoreç vendor E.E., the baker M.K., the mussel seller Y.D., the café owner F.M.O., the son of the pest control company owner S.K., and the technician D.C. who performed the pest control were taken into custody. Subsequently, two additional hotel employees and another pest control worker were detained, raising the total number of detentions to 11. After police procedures, four suspects — mussel seller Y.D., lokum vendor F.T., kokoreç vendor E.E., and café operator F.M.O. — were formally arrested. As the investigation progressed, the pest control company owner Z.K., his employees S.K. and D.C., and hotel employee M.M.U.D.C. were also arrested. Measures of “ban on leaving the country” and “prohibition from leaving residence” were applied to hotel owner H.O., while other judicial controls were imposed on hotel employee R.B. and simit vendor M.K.

During interrogation, the person who performed pest control at the hotel stated that he always used “two caps of pesticide” and that on the day in question, he applied the same amount before leaving the hotel. The taxi driver who transported the family back from the hospital on 12 November was also questioned for information. The driver stated that one of the children had vomited into the car and that he later washed the vehicle. Due to the washing, no samples could be collected from the vomit. Within the scope of the investigation, statements from suspects, samples collected from the hotel and surrounding businesses, and forensic analyses conducted by the Forensic Medicine Institution and the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry were examined.

Forensic Medicine and Preliminary Autopsy Findings

Following examination by the Forensic Medicine Institution, preliminary autopsy reports were prepared for mother Çiğdem Böcek (27), father Servet Böcek (36), and their children Kadir Muhammet (6) and Masal Böcek (3). The report noted that the family arrived in Istanbul on Sunday, 9 November, stayed at the Harbour Suites Old City Hotel in Fatih, and consumed various foods from outside sources on 10 and 11 November, including mussels, pide, tantuni, kokoreç, and lokum.

The report recorded that nausea and vomiting began early on 12 November, prompting the family to seek medical attention in the morning, return to the hotel after initial treatment, and become severely ill again around 03:00 on 13 November, requiring ambulance transport to the hospital. It was noted that the children died the same day despite medical intervention, that mother Çiğdem Böcek died on 14 November, and that father Servet Böcek died on 17 November 2025.

The report also stated that the hotel was treated with pesticide for insects and pests on 11 November, that the Böcek family’s room, number 201, was located directly above room 101, which had been treated, that the building had no ventilation system, and that two other foreign nationals staying at the same hotel had been hospitalized with similar symptoms.

In addition, the chemical substances and their containers used in the hotel’s pest control, blood samples taken from the mother and father at the hospital, blood samples from two foreign nationals, and the bed sheets from the room where the family stayed were sent to the Forensic Medicine Institution. According to the autopsy results, no traumatic findings capable of causing death were observed in the children. Localized bleeding and redness were noted in the stomach wall; focal ulcerative areas and submucosal diffuse hemorrhage were detected in the mother Çiğdem Böcek’s stomach wall. In the father Servet Böcek’s small intestine, bloody contents were found, along with bleeding in the stomach wall and thrombi in the blood vessels.

The report’s conclusions state that no toxic substances or their metabolites were detected in samples taken from the mother, father, and children. Similarly, no toxic substances were found in the initial blood samples taken from the mother and father at the hospital.

The report includes the following statement: “When the circumstances of the incident, medical histories, newly acquired information, and the fact that two other individuals from the same hotel were hospitalized with similar complaints are considered together, it is believed that the mother, father, and children most likely died due to chemical poisoning from the environment of the hotel they stayed in, and less likely due to food poisoning from the food they consumed.”

The report also notes that the Forensic Medicine Institution’s Chemistry Specialization Unit is currently analyzing the composition of the chemical substances, and investigations are ongoing by the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, the General Directorate of Food Control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the AFAD Provincial Directorate, and other relevant laboratories. The investigation file states that the final toxicology report from the Forensic Medicine Institution is still awaited.

Explanation of the Causes of Death

Based on laboratory examinations, autopsy findings, and assessments completed by the First Specialization Board of the Forensic Medicine Institution, a definitive conclusion has been reached regarding the cause of death of the Böcek family. The investigations determined that the deaths of mother Çiğdem Böcek, father Servet Böcek, and children Kadir Muhammet and Masal Böcek were not due to food poisoning, but rather resulted from poisoning caused by chemical substances applied in the hotel to eliminate insects.

In a prior technical examination submitted to the prosecutor’s office, insecticide residue samples collected from towels, masks, and surfaces in the hotel room were found to contain phosphine gas. This finding was assessed as consistent with the chemical residues of the insecticide used in the room.

Food analyses conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry revealed no toxic substances or metabolites in the products consumed by the family. This finding supports the technical evidence indicating that the cause of death was not food-related.

With the definitive assessment by the Forensic Medicine Institution, it has been confirmed that the incident occurred as a result of chemical poisoning caused by the insecticide used in the hotel environment.