Turkish officials are unsure of the cause of death for a British mother who allegedly had her heart removed from her chest cavity while on vacation.
Beth Martin, 28, reported feeling ill during her flight from the United Kingdom to Turkey and initially dismissed it as food poisoning. Martin, on the other hand, became “delirious” within hours of landing in Istanbul and was admitted to the hospital.
According to the Daily Mail, the mother of two passed away the following day, April 28.
Luke, Beth’s husband, claimed Turkish officials were not forthcoming with him and initially suspected him of poisoning her.
He was able to have his wife’s body flown back to the UK, where British coroners told him the unthinkable: Beth’s heart had been removed, he claimed.
The Turkish Ministry of Health revealed Beth’s cause of death as “cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failure,” but did not elaborate on what caused it.
The Turkish government also denied the British coroners’ allegations, claiming she “did not undergo any surgical procedures” during a preliminary autopsy at the hospital where she died.
Her family is now wondering if her doctors at Turkey’s Marmara University Pendik Education and Research Hospital in Istanbul overlooked something or if they gave her penicillin before discovering she was allergic to it.
The hospital is currently being investigated for Martin’s death.
Coroners in England could take up to six months to determine what caused Martin’s organs to shut down.
