Turkish health chiefs break silence on death Brit mum Beth Martin who had ‘heart removed’ on hols as mystery deepens
TURKISH officials have broken their silence over Brit mum Beth Martin’s mysterious death and allegations her heart was secretly removed by doctors.
Ms Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, tragically died after suddenly falling ill during her dream holiday in the country as they flew into Istanbul.
She was rushed to Marmara University Hospital – which is rated two stars by users on Google – where she tragically died.
And she is alleged to have had her heart removed without her family’s permission – with them not knowing until she returned to the UK.
But the Turkish Ministry of Health has now released a statement denying allegations that her heart was taken out.
It comes as her family are desperately seeking answers over the death of the tragic mum-of-two.
Her husband Luke even says he was accused of poisoning by Turkish authorities before being released.
The family have launched a GoFundMe – which as of publication has hit over £200k – and have called for further investigations into what happened to Beth.
The Turkish health ministry said that Ms Martin died of “cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failure” .
It said: “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.”
Turkish officials also claim that Ms Martin did not undergo any surgical procedure.
Her preliminary autopsy was non-invasive and done without any incisions, the ministry said.
But they added that after the first autopsy at the hospital – her body was transfered to the Forensic Medicine Institute for another autopsy.
They do not say whether or not surgical procedures were carried out during this second probe.
It added: “A preliminary autopsy [without incision] was performed at the hospital in accordance with the forensic case procedure and his wife’s request in this regard.
“The exact cause of Martin’s death could not be determined with the current findings in the preliminary autopsy, which was carried out with the participation of the Public Prosecutor and the forensic medicine doctor.
“Beth Martin did not undergo any surgical procedures during her treatment at the hospital, and there was no question of any organs being removed.”
However, the Brit mum’s family said a second UK autopsy revealed her heart had been removed – without any prior consent or authorisation.
They also said that while medical reports rule out food poisoning as a cause of death, they still do not confirm how exactly the mum died.
After falling sick, Ms Martin was wheeled to Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital – a low-rated public hospital built on the outskirts of the Turkish capital.
She was finally admitted to the hospital, which offers Istanbul’s International Patient Service, serving foreign patients.
The doctors are understood to have checked her heart by performing an angiogram – a form of X-ray that shows blood vessels.
After doing the checks, the doctors told husband Luke they did not find anything suspicious.
However, Ms Martin was sadly dead by the very next day – leaving Luke to explain the tragedy to their two young children, aged 8 and 5.
Marmara Pendik Hospital is now facing a negligence investigation over Ms Martin’s sudden death, according to Ms Martin’s family.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) is also making its own enquiries with local authorities.
And previous FCDO guidance warns that organs or tissue samples may be removed without warning by Turkish authorities during autopsies.
The public hospital has a low rating on Google, averaging just two stars.
A website operated by the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Health states that the hospital’s principles are “transparency and accountability [with] people at the focal point of the fairness of the health service that is excellent”.
The Sun has reached out to the hospital for comment.
Meanwhile, Luke told how he was then shocked when Turkish police initially accused him of poisoning and killing his wife after her shocking death.
She was being treated in intensive care, he said, before adding he was banned from seeing her.
Ms Martin and Luke’s parents flew out the following day and were again kept in the dark.
They were then shocked to discover she had been transferred to another hospital overnight, due to “concerns with her heart”, with none of the family members informed.
Close friend Ellie, who travelled to Turkey to try and help, detailed her experience of what happened after the Brit mum’s death.
She revealed that Ms Martin was supposed to be transferred to a private clinic.
But the public hospital was slow to act and “stopped her” from doing so.
She told how the doctors were acting strangely.
Ellie explained: “All they went on about is ‘are you going to sue the hospital? Sign this bit of paper’.
“I said: ‘Is there something we should be suing for? Do you know something we don’t? Because that’s really suspicious.'”
The family, who have not been told her cause of death, claim they were also forced to carry Ms Martin in a body bag through the hospital.
She blasted the hospitals, saying: “The insurance company wanted to move her to a private hospital but the public hospital in Istanbul were not cooperating, they were being slow and delaying reports and not sending information over.
“They stopped her.”