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Four members of the Bocek family, who traveled from Germany to Istanbul on Nov. 9, died after staying in a hotel in Fatih.
The final opinion of the Forensic Medicine Institute confirmed that the family died due to poisoning linked to a chemical used in the hotel to kill insects.
The assessment stated that the deaths of Cigdem Bocek, Servet Bocek and their children Kadir Muhammet and Masal did not result from food poisoning.
It concluded that the cause was exposure to a substance applied in the hotel.
Earlier tests sent to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office showed phosphine on towels, masks and several surfaces inside the room.
Food samples taken by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry from dishes the family consumed, including kokorec (grilled seasoned lamb intestines), tantuni (thinly sliced sauteed meat wrap), sucuk ekmek (spicy beef sausage sandwich), ezogelin soup (traditional red lentil and bulgur soup) and stuffed mussels, complied with Turkish Food Codex standards.
The ministry report said, “No toxic substances or metabolites in our system were detected in the samples.”
The family first went to the hospital on Nov. 12 with nausea and vomiting, then returned to the hotel. The same symptoms returned during the night of Nov. 13. The two children died the same day. The mother died on Nov. 14 and the father on Nov. 17.
Two tourists staying at the hotel and another person staying in the same room also received treatment for similar symptoms.
Police later sealed the hotel and 11 people were detained, with eight being arrested. The investigation continues.
Authorities confirmed that the Forensic Medicine Institute’s assessment entered the case file on Nov. 26.
The report repeated that the deaths were not linked to food and pointed to chemical exposure inside the hotel. In earlier stages of the investigation, the provisional report had already noted that the family’s stomach samples did not contain poison.
Samples taken from the room showed phosphine, which investigators described as a pesticide metabolite.
The case has drawn attention in both Türkiye and Germany. The family had been taken to the hospital on Nov. 13 after emergency teams arrived at the hotel.
Despite treatment, the children could not be saved. The parents later died at Taksim Training and Research Hospital. Investigators also examined two tourists who reported nausea and vomiting after staying in the same hotel.
Several unrelated incidents in Istanbul have led to hospital admissions in recent days.
In Sisli, 25 people who ate at a restaurant went to hospitals with suspected food poisoning.
Istanbul Provincial Health Director Abdullah Emre Guner said, “A total of 25 people have applied to health institutions. Their general health conditions are good and their medical evaluations and treatments are ongoing.”
Municipal, health and agriculture teams collected food samples from the business, which was then sealed.
In Esenyurt, high-dose pest control in the basement of a five-floor building caused seven residents to be taken to the hospital, including one baby. Guner said five ambulances, a UMKE vehicle and 17 health personnel were sent to the area and confirmed that all seven people were in good condition.
A resident stated that people panicked and ran outside and complained that no one in the building had been informed before the treatment.
In Umraniye, 40 students were taken to hospitals after eating lokum (Turkish Delight) distributed during a seminar on disaster management at Madenler Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School.
Thirty-five students were discharged after treatment, as tests continue for five others. Guner said 25 students were taken by ambulance and 15 arrived independently.
He added that one student was transferred to Marmara University Pendik Research and Training Hospital after doctors detected elevated cardiac enzyme levels that appeared unrelated to the incident.
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