Family's questions over Turkey lift-shaft death

A family friend of a 20-year-old man who was found dead in a lift-shaft at a Turkish hotel has said she recognises they are "never going to get all the answers".

Tyler Kerry, from Pitsea in Essex, was on holiday with his family when he was found dead at the Trendy Lara hotel in Kundu near Antalya in November 2024.

At a pre-inquest review, Essex area coroner Michelle Brown told the hearing it was a "complicated case" because Kerry died in a country with no reciprocal arrangements with the UK.

Family friend Danielle Belton said afterwards that she and the family wanted "to be able to close this chapter".

She said Turkish investigators had "come to the conclusion there's no third party involvement, but there is a huge list of missing information in the investigation".

"We recognise we're never going to get all the answers as we're dealing with a Turkish system that doesn't compare with our one," said Belton, who is also Conservative leader at Rochford District Council.

Brown told the court, in Chelmsford, that Kerry was "found deceased in the lift-shaft with some of his clothing removed".

She said a post-mortem examination was conducted in Turkey, which reported that he had a level of alcohol above the drink-drive limit and evidence of cannabis use.

A further post-mortem examination in the UK recorded his cause of death as multiple injuries and blunt force trauma.

Toxicology was not possible in the UK due to the embalming process.

A second UK post-mortem examination, funded privately by the family, recorded Kerry died of traumatic head injuries and a fall from height.

A Turkish investigation gave no indication of third party involvement.

Brown said she was "aware that a Turkish judge ordered an investigation into how Kerry gained access to the lift shaft".

A further inquest hearing was set for 11 March.

Kerry's grandmother Collette Kerry, 57, attended the inquest with her husband Ray.

She said afterwards she was "happy" with how the hearing went, adding she looked "forward to the final inquest and getting the conclusion".

Kerry had been visiting Turkey with his girlfriend Molly, his grandparents and other relatives, and it was his first family holiday abroad when he died within 36 hours of arriving.

In December 2024, the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey told the BBC it had investigated the case "meticulously" and described Kerry as having fallen from a height.

They said there was no evidence of "intervention" on his body.

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