British father, 32, plunged to his death in Turkey hours after he was escorted off plane following drunken row with his partner, inquest hears
A British father plunged to his death just hours after he was escorted off a plane in Turkey after getting in a drunken fight with his partner, an inquest has heard.
Ben Crook, 32, was reported missing after he flew out to Antalya to celebrate his 32nd birthday with his partner Jess Jenkins and her two children on September 23.
He began drinking after setting off from his home in Abertridwr, Caerphilly county, and continued to do so inside Bristol Airport and onboard the plane.
Having also taken cocaine, he behaved erratically on the flight by shouting at a male air steward when they refused to serve him more alcohol on the plane.
A drunken row with his partner then followed and he smashed both their phones which led him to being escorted off the plane when it landed in Turkey, the inquest at Gwent Coroner's Court heard.
His partner Jess Jenkins was advised to go to their family hotel with her two children and wait for Ben, but he never arrived.
The inquest heard Ben messaged his father to ask for the name of the hotel they were staying in.
However, the message was never received as it went to his spam folder.
He was discovered on Cumhuriyet Street (pictured) in the Selçuk area of Antalya - less than a mile from the hotel where the family were staying
Ben was last seen Kaleiçi, the old town district of Antalya, before he disappeared 'looking shaken and hungover'.
He was discovered the following day on Cumhuriyet Street in the Selçuk area - less than a mile from the hotel where the family were staying.
After raising the alarm over his disappearance, Jess received a message from a woman who had seen Ben near Kaleici Harbour.
The woman wrote: 'He said he smashed up his phone and had brought a new one but it was not ringing for some reason. He used my phone to send a message to his friend and we gave him our number if he needed more help.
'He looked shaken and hungover. After the Facebook message and ringing his friend, he crossed the harbour and walked, we presumed, to the police station for help.'
Ben was found laying on rocky ground at the bottom of a tall building and died at Antalya Training and Research Hospital at 2.15am on September 25.
His father had flown to Turkey after learning of his son's disappearance only to be told of his death on arrival
A post mortem examination carried out at the Antalya Forensic Institute on September 24 revealed Ben had suffered external injuries and lacerations which were in keeping with a fall.
Ben's body was repatriated to the UK where a second post mortem was carried out and gave his medical cause of death as fractured skull and pelvis caused by blunt trauma as a result of a fall.
A toxicology report revealed the presence of cocaine, alcohol, ketamine and cocaethylene in Ben's blood, with the ketamine likely administered during his treatment.
Dr Rashid recorded the medical cause of death as fractured skull and pelvis caused by blunt trauma as a result of a fall.
The hearing heard he may have fallen while smoking.
In a statement read out to the court by senior coroner Caroline Saunders, Jess said Ben had started drinking alcohol before they arrived at the airport and bought duty free alcohol at the airport which they planned to drink at their hotel.
The flight was delayed so the couple began drinking the duty free alcohol.
Jess said her partner was a 'nervous flier' but they were 'chatting and joking' before take off.
Ben's sister Amy said her brother had had issues with drugs and alcohol and his consumption had increased in the months before his death.
She said her brother also suffered with his mental health, which was impacted by his drug and alcohol use, but Jess said there was nothing to suggest he would take his own life and leave his two children without a father.
Delivering her conclusion, Ms Saunders said: '(Alcohol and drugs) may have caused disorientation and poor judgement but this is insufficient to determine he fell as a result of the drugs he had taken.
'I find the fall was an accident, the exact details of which are unknown...
'On September 24, 2024, Ben Crook fell from height whilst on holiday in Turkey and sustained severe head and pelvic injuries and died on September 25, 2024. The conclusion I reach is that of an accident.'
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