Mystery is deepening over the death of Beth Martin in Turkey, following allegations that her heart was secretly removed during a family holiday with her husband and two children.
Officials have finally broken their silence about the controversy at Marmara University Hospital in Istanbul, insisting that ‘there was no question of any organs being removed’.
The 28-year-old, from Portsmouth, died of ‘cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failure’, the Turkish health ministry revealed in a statement.
They claimed she did not undergo any surgical procedure at the hospital.
‘The patient was recorded in the hospital records as a “forensic case” in line with the statement of Martin’s wife that they may have been poisoned by a meal they ate in their country before the trip, and the initial findings,’ it added.
The ministry said a ‘preliminary autopsy [without incision]’ was performed at the hospital in ‘accordance with the forensic case procedure’, but the exact cause of death could not be determined.
Family left with many unanswered questions
The update leaves Beth’s family with many unanswered questions after an autopsy in the UK later revealed her heart was removed after she died.
The mother was taken to hospital just a day into her holiday with husband Luke and two children, aged eight and five, after falling ill on the plane to Istanbul.
By the morning, the British tourist had become ‘delirious’ and was rushed to Marmara University Hospital, which is rated 2.5 on Google.
While doctors raised concerns about her heart, she died on April 29, a day after she was admitted, and her family say they were kept in the dark about her condition.
Luke accused of poisoning his wife
Luke even says he was accused of poisoning his wife by police before he was released.
After ‘begging and pleading’ with officials at the hospital, he was allowed into the morgue to say goodbye to his wife, according to a GoFundMe page set up by the family.
The grieving husband was permitted ‘one minute, no more,’ with staffpeering over his shoulder at all times.
Beth’s mother was allowed to see her but was under strict instructions ‘to wash her hands, not touch her and not even kiss her.’
‘Yet again, staff were over her shoulder, she couldn’t even embrace her dead daughters body,’ said Robert Hammond who started the fundraiser.
Family accuses hospital of missing heart condition
Beth’s family now suspects her death may be linked to a missed heart condition or an allergic reaction to penicillin, which they believe she may have been administered despite being allergic.
In a Facebook post, Luke wrote about suffering the ‘deepest level of trauma’ over how and why Beth died.
‘It has been the worst and most traumatic week of my entire life, and to top it off.. I had to break the news to my babies that their mum is not coming home, it broke me,’ he wrote.
‘Even more so when I had to say goodbye to them so they could be brought home by family.’
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