The family of a man who was found dead in a lift shaft in Turkey have argued that his death was not accidental and want there to be a murder investigation.
The body of Essex man Tyler Kerry was found on 29 November inside the lift shaft of the hotel he had been staying at in Antalya, having been there on an all-inclusive holiday with his family.
Alex Price, uncle of the 20-year-old, said that Tyler’s body was found at around 7am local time (4am GMT), explaining that he’d received a phone call from his sister to tell him that Tyler had been pronounced dead at the scene.
Price said the family were hoping to have Tyler’s body returned to the UK soon, and that the family want a full investigation into how the 20-year-old died as they are ‘still in the dark about what’s happened’.
Speaking to ITV, Tyler’s grandmother Colette called for a murder investigation into the fate of the Essex man and said that police in Turkey hadn’t spoken to the family.
Tyler Kerry, 20, was found dead in the lift shaft of his hotel in Turkey. (Alex Price/PA Wire)
“This is not a tragic accident and I just feel like nobody is listening to me. It’s like they just want to sweep it under the carpet and get shut of us,” she said.
“The local police came on Friday but they haven’t spoken to us since at all. Apparently they were here in the hotel earlier but they didn’t come and speak to us.”
Colette said that most of the family had gone to bed at around 10pm on the Thursday night while Tyler stayed up with his cousin Nathan and brother Mason.
Nathan and Mason said that Tyler fell asleep on a sofa in the hotel and they briefly left him to get a drink but when they returned he had gone, leaving behind his coat and t-shirt.
Tyler’s grandad Ray said that the pair then returned to the family hotel rooms, expecting that the 20-year-old had gone there, but there was no sign of him.
Tyler and his girlfriend Molly. The Essex man’s family want a murder investigation opened. (Alex Price/PA Wire)
A search of the hotel turned up no sign of Tyler until they got to the basement where a restaurant is located and ‘two members of staff pointed towards the lift shaft and there he was’.
The 20-year-old was wearing only boxer shorts and socks, with his other clothes located around the hotel.
Colette Kerry said: “We have found blood in all different areas of this hotel. His vape, which I have because the police handed it back to me, is covered in blood. That wasn’t found with him, it was found on another floor of the hotel.
“We’ve found blood on the floor and in another lift shaft. It’s in lots of other places in the hotel. It doesn’t look like any forensic evidence has been taken at all. We’ve been taking photographs of it all in the hopes that this is investigated properly, because this needs to be a murder investigation.
“I’m worried that he might have been attacked and that someone put him down the lift shaft to make it look like a suicide or an accident.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money to pay for Tyler’s funeral, you can donate to it here.
Featured Image Credit: Alex Price / PA Wire
