20.11.2025 09:09
The investigation into the deaths of a mother, father, and their two children, who lost their lives in a hospital where they were being treated for suspected poisoning in Fatih, is ongoing. In the indictment issued by the prosecutor's office, the hotel employee M.M.U.D.C., who was arrested after it was revealed that the Böcek family was locked in the hotel, stated, "Around 1:30 AM, I locked the hotel door to go to a nearby kebab shop for food."
The investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding Kadir Muhammet Böcek (6) and Masal Böcek (3), who fell ill at the hotel where they were staying in Fatih, and the subsequent death of their mother Çiğdem Böcek and father Servet Böcek in the hospital is ongoing.
NUMBER OF DETAINEES IN THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEATH OF THE BÖCEK FAMILY RISES TO 8
After the testimonies, the prosecutor's office ordered the arrest of hotel owner H. O., hotel employees M. M. U. D. C., R. B., and the owners of the pest control company Z. K., S. K., and D. C. on charges of "causing death and injury by negligence." The bagel seller M. K. was referred to the Peace Criminal Court with a request for judicial control. The court placed H. O. under house arrest, imposed a travel ban on hotel employee R. B., and detained the other hotel employees M. M. U. D. C., and the owners of the pest control company Z. K., S. K., and D. C. for "causing death and injury by negligence." Bagel seller M. K. was released under judicial control. Previously, a mussel seller, kokoreç seller, Turkish delight seller, and café owner had also been arrested in connection with the incident.
FAMILY LOCKED IN HOTEL AFTER PEST CONTROL
In the existing camera footage in the file, it was determined that the deceased Servet Böcek could not exit the hotel due to the locked door, attempted to break the door, and that nearby citizens helped to break the door, during which suspect M. M. U. D. C. arrived at the scene and opened the door.
OWNER OF THE PEST CONTROL COMPANY: I HAVE NO FAULT
The owner of the pest control company Z. K., who was detained as part of the investigation and was ordered to be arrested by the peace criminal court, stated in his testimony at the prosecutor's office that he established the company about 6-7 years ago, that he does not have a workplace, and that they operate as a home office over the internet.
Z. K. claimed that they generally provide services to private businesses and residences, that suspect D. C. works as a cleaner, that his son S. K. does not work in the company, and that they only registered him with social security, asserting that his son does not do pest control work. "I do not have any certificate related to pest control. To my knowledge, D. C. does not have a certificate either. The pest control work is done by D. C. and a person whose name I currently do not remember," he stated.
Z. K. claimed that they did not use any other pesticides except for two, that he could not remember where they obtained these pesticides, and that he would submit the invoices to the file later. Z. K. alleged that he received a phone call on November 11, stating that the caller operated a hotel, that there was a pest in one of the rooms, and that they would have pest control done. "I directed D. C. to this person. D. C. went alone and did the pest control. I do not even know which hotel D. C. went to. Generally, customers first call me. I direct the calling customers to D. C. On November 15, D. C. called me and said that the police had summoned him because there was a poisoning incident where he had done pest control. When I learned that D. C. and S. K. had been detained, I also went to the police station. I have no fault in this incident," he claimed.
I HAVE NO CERTIFICATE REGARDING THE PEST CONTROL PROCESS
D. C., an employee of the pest control company that was arrested in the investigation, stated in his testimony that he had been working there for 2-3 months and that he had also done pest control at the hotel where the incident occurred in August.
On the day of the incident, November 11, he claimed that he went to the hotel around 4:00 PM to do pest control based on a message received from the company's phone around 12:00 PM, that the staff showed him the room, and that he used pesticides named "Alfasc" and "Cypermetrin" during the pest control process. D. C. explained that he mixed these pesticides with water and applied them by spraying. He also stated that he used a pest control gel named "filit gel" in approximately 16-17 areas at certain intervals within the room, noting that this gel was in a gel consistency and was placed in the room at certain intervals for the pests to consume.
D. C. claimed that he closed the toilet door and ventilation with paper tape before doing the pest control, and that he taped the room door after the pest control and left the hotel. "I have no certificate regarding the pest control process. When I started the job, the employee named S. who taught me said that no certificate was needed. This situation was communicated to the employee named S. by the owner of the company, Z. K. I do not know the victims of the incident. I have no fault in the incident. I do not accept the charges against me," he stated.
I WAS NOT IN ISTANBUL ON THE DAY OF THE PEST CONTROL
S. K., the son of the detained owner of the pest control company, stated in his testimony that he had no authority in the company, that he was registered with social security through the company, that he worked in another job, and that he occasionally helped his father with pest control work, claiming that he moved to Fatsa about 4-5 months ago due to a disagreement with his father.
S. K. claimed that he was in Fatsa on the day pest control was done at the hotel, that he came to Istanbul to visit his family on November 14, and that the next day D. C. called him, saying that the police had summoned him due to a pest control operation he had done at a hotel and that he had no vehicle and wanted him to take him. "I took him to the location of the hotel in Fatih. Police teams were conducting an investigation there. D. C. gave the police the samples of the pesticides he had with him. Later, the police took me to the police station. I have no connection with the pest control operation that was done. I was not in Istanbul on the day of the pest control," he claimed.
I DID NOT ASK FOR ANY CERTIFICATE REGARDING THEIR AUTHORITY IN PEST CONTROL
The hotel owner H. O., who is subject to judicial control measures of "travel ban" and "prohibition of leaving the residence," stated in his testimony at the prosecutor's office that he took over the hotel 5-6 months ago, that he has not been able to go to the hotel for about 3 months due to a leg ailment caused by diabetes, and that during this period, the hotel operations were handled by the hotel manager H.
D claimed that H. D called him on November 10, saying there was a complaint about bugs from room 101 of the hotel, and he told him to call a pest control company. Suspect H. O stated that H. D had previously contacted a company named DSS, which they had used for pest control, and explained that this room was treated on November 11.
Suspect H. O continued his statement as follows:
"After the pest control company finishes its work, the room remains closed for about 2-3 days. After that, a cleaning process is carried out, and it is opened for use. Neither I nor my employees have any responsibility regarding the pest control process. We had also had pest control done by the same company in August. We did not experience any problems. I did not ask this company if they had any certification regarding their authority in pest control. The deceased individuals were staying in room 202 of the hotel. I learned about the poisoning incident the day after it happened when my nephew E. O, who works at the hotel, called me. Normally, only H. D. and E. O work at the hotel. Since H. D. was on leave, I temporarily hired individuals named R. B. and M. M. U. D. C. for their daily work. Their duties are to stay at the reception."
Claiming that he was not at fault for the incident, H. O stated, "Even if it is concluded that the deceased individuals died due to pesticide poisoning, the responsibility lies with the pest control company. I do not accept the accusations against me."
TERRIFYING CONFESSION FROM THE RECEPTIONIST
Among the suspects who were ordered to be arrested, M. M. U. D. C stated in his statement that he worked part-time at the hotel, that he was not there during the pest control, and that a person named E. O was working. He claimed that he arrived at the hotel around 08:30 on November 12 and that the doors of room 101 were taped due to pest control.
Noting that Servet and Çiğdem Böcek told him that their children were vomiting and that the room needed to be cleaned around 10:00-11:00, suspect M. M. U. D. C gave the following statement:
"They also said that they had eaten something at the beach and that their stomachs were upset because of it, and they asked for help to go to the hospital. I told them there was a clinic on Kadırga Street. Later, I saw them leaving the hotel with the children. After my shift ended, I went home. On the same day, around 20:30, R. B, who was working as a receptionist, called me, saying he had an urgent matter and asked me to work in his place. Since I needed the money, I accepted. I arrived at the hotel around 22:45. There was a smell of vomit in the hotel. Around 01:00, I went outside to get some fresh air due to the smell."
"I LOCKED THE DOOR AND WENT TO THE KEBAB SHOP"
M. M. U. D. C claimed that after getting some fresh air, he returned, stating, "Around 01:30, I locked the hotel door and went to the kebab shop nearby for food. My purpose in locking the door was to prevent a thief from entering the hotel. The hotel's entrance door already has a contact number and a note saying the keys are on the table. When I returned 15-20 minutes later, I saw an ambulance in front of the door. I noticed the Böcek family getting into the ambulance. I have no connection to the incident. I believe I am not at fault."
"I LIED TO MEET MY FRIEND"
Suspect R. B, who is under judicial control, stated in his statement that he is a university student and sometimes works at hotel receptions to earn pocket money due to his foreign language skills, and claimed that he did not know the Böcek family.
When he arrived at the hotel on November 11, he saw that the doors of room 101 were taped, and he did not smell any odor in the lobby. He stated that he was supposed to work on November 12 but called another friend working in the lobby, asking him to work in his place, using the excuse that he was sick. R. B said, "I was not actually sick; I just lied to meet my friend. If I had such an illness, I would have gone to the hospital. I did not go to the hospital because I had no illness. There is no sale of food or drinks at the hotel where we worked. I learned about the events later. I do not accept the accusations against me."
A FAMILY HAS DISAPPEARED
Servet and Çiğdem Böcek, who arrived in Istanbul from Germany on November 9 and were staying at a hotel in Fatih, applied to the hospital on November 12 due to complaints of nausea and vomiting, and the next day, despite intervention, the children could not be saved.
The mother, who was treated at Taksim Training and Research Hospital, passed away on November 14, and the father on November 17.
Two tourists staying at the hotel where the family was lodged were also treated at the same hospital for nausea and vomiting complaints. A third person who was staying in the same room and was with the patients as a companion was hospitalized for examination due to low heart rate.
After the police teams conducted an investigation as part of the investigation, the hotel was sealed.
As part of the investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 11 suspects were taken into custody.
Among the suspects, seafood vendor Y. D, confectioner F. T, kokoreç vendor E. E, and café operator F. M. O were arrested on November 17, and today, employees of the pest control company Z. K, S. K, and D. C, as well as hotel employee M. M. U. D. C were arrested, while hotel owner H. O and hotel employee R. B, along with simit vendor M. K, were released under judicial control conditions.