Mystery surrounds British mother's sudden death while on holiday
Turkish officials are not saying definitively what killed a vacationing British mother whose heart was allegedly removed from her chest cavity.
Beth Martin, 28, reported feeling ill on her flight from the UK to Turkey, and initially dismissed it as food poisoning.
However, within hours of touching down in Istanbul, Martin grew 'delirious,' and was hospitalised, New York Post reported.
The mother of two died the very next day, on April 28, Daily Mail reported.
Beth's husband, Luke, claimed Turkish officials were less than 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 unimaginable: Beth's heart had been removed, he said.
The Turkish Ministry of Health revealed Beth's cause of death was 'cardiac arrest due to multiple organ failure', but did not go into detail about what caused that.
The Turkish government further refuted the British coroners' claims, insisting she 'did not undergo any surgical procedures' during a preliminary autopsy at the hospital where she died.
Her family now wonders if her doctors at Turkey's Marmara University Pendik Education and Research Hospital in Istanbul missed something, or may have administered penicillin before learning she was allergic to the drug.
The hospital is now being investigated for Martin's death.
It could take coroners in England six months to determine what caused Martin's organs to start shutting down.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
GoodSam app volunteer Ashlin Fisher saves neighbour in cardiac arrest
When Geoff Percival collapsed in cardiac arrest and his partner called triple-0, it was not a paramedic who was the first responder; it was neighbour Ashlin Fisher. A few months earlier, the young mum from Broulee on the New South Wales south coast had downloaded NSW Ambulance's GoodSam responder application to her phone. The time had come to put it to the test. "It's a very loud, alarming alert … and I realised what it was and I had to run out the door," Ms Fisher said. When she arrived that fateful day in March last year, the 63-year-old was unconscious, and his partner was performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). "I explained as best I could who I was and what I was … I asked her to put the phone on loudspeaker … and very quickly I didn't have to make any real decisions, triple-0 was just giving me instructions on what to do," she said. The frantic triple-0 call recorded the moment Ms Fisher arrived, with the operator responding: "We've got a GoodSam here? OK, alright … we're up to 300 compressions, I need you to keep going until that ambulance arrives." As Ms Fisher counted the compression alongside the operator, ambulance sirens blared in the background, and within two minutes a paramedic was in the room. Then the operator said, "Is that the paramedic on scene with you? OK, I'll leave you with them, you've all done a really good job, all the best now." Mr Percival recently got the chance to thank his good Samaritan. "I just think it was so lucky that she was able to respond. [My partner] was doing CPR on me … and Ashlin came along and I think you said, 'Can I take over?' and she said, 'Yes, please,'" he said. "It was good to have a third person come in and have some idea what to do until the paramedics arrived. According to NSW Ambulance, it takes a paramedic an average of nine to 10 minutes to reach a heart attack case. The GoodSam app aims to bridge that gap and is available to anyone 18 or older and able to perform CPR. When needed, an alarm on the responder's phone rings, and the person is asked if they can help. If they can, they receive the patient's address along with the location of any nearby defibrillator. GoodSam began in NSW in 2023, and so far about 9,600 volunteers have registered. NSW Ambulance GoodSam project officer Monika Sitkowski said volunteers had given CPR to 54 patients who had survived. "They're not getting oxygen into their vital organs, especially their brain, so we need to get volunteers who are nearby to start that CPR process and keep them alive until paramedics arrive. "[GoodSam] is about saving your neighbours. It's about saving your friends and family. There's a huge increase in survival when you've got early CPR to that person in need." NSW Ambulance said it was aiming for 50,000 registered volunteers across the state. "That would probably mean that there's a GoodSam responder nearby to every person who goes into cardiac arrest," Ms Sitkowski said. Versions of the GoodSam app are also used in South Australia and Victoria, while Western Australia's St John Ambulance has a similar app.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- News.com.au
Cheers star George Wendt's cause of death revealed
George Wendt's cause of death has been revealed weeks after his sudden passing. The Cheers star, famous for playing barfly Norm Peterson in all 11 seasons of the beloved NBC show, died from cardiac arrest, according to the death certificate obtained by TMZ on Thursday. The certificate also reportedly lists congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and hypertension as underlying causes. Other contributing factors include end-stage renal disease (kidney failure) and hyperlipidemia, per the outlet. Wendt's loved ones confirmed to The Post that the TV icon died 'peacefully in his sleep' on Tuesday, May 17, at age 76. 'George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,' the family rep's told The Post in a statement. 'He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.' Wendt, who earned six Emmy nominations for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Norm, made his final few public appearances in 2024. In August of that year, he reunited with his Cheers co-stars Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson on their podcast, 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name'. He seemed happy to be in the company of his famous colleagues and even addressed how he landed the role in the sitcom that ran from 1982 to 1993. In June 2024, he made his last public appearance with his nephew, Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis. The actor's mum, Kathy, was one of Wendt's sisters. The uncle and nephew shared several laughs while appearing in a comedy skit at the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend in Kansas City, Missouri, alongside comedian Robert Smigel and NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Dressed in Chicago Bears gear, Wendt and Smigel channelled their characters Bob Swerski and Carl Wollarski in the bit 'Super Fans,' marking the first time they played the characters since Chris Farley's death in 1997, reported KCTV5. Sudeikis stepped in as Farley's character, Todd O'Conner, and the trio hounded Kelce about his romance with Taylor Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs. Wendt also appeared alongside his famous nephew in January 2024 at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. The late star walked with a cane as Sudeikis guided his uncle down the red carpet before he joined some of his Cheers castmates on stage during a special tribute honouring the most beloved shows in television history. Several of Wendt's co-stars broke their silence about his death. 'I am devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us,' Danson, 77, shared with The Post. 'I am sending all my love to Bernadette and the children. It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie.' Rhea Perlman said: 'George Wendt was the sweetest, kindest man I ever met. It was impossible not to like him. As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week. I loved doing it and he loved pretending it didn't hurt. What a guy! I'll miss him more than words can say.' Despite Cheers ending after 11 seasons and 28 Emmys, Wendt's character lived on. He went on to play Norm in two Cheers spin-offs: The Tortellis and Frasier, as well as shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, Wings and more. Wendt starred as himself on Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show, and was featured as a recurring character on The Naked Truth and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Wendt is survived by his wife, actress Bernadette Birkett; their children Hilary, Joe and Daniel; and his stepchildren, Joshua and Andrew.
News.com.au
28-05-2025
- News.com.au
Ancient bread rises again as Turkey recreates 5,000-year-old loaf
In the early Bronze Age, a piece of bread was buried beneath the threshold of a newly built house in what is today central Turkey. Now, more than 5,000 years later, archaeologists have unearthed it, and helped a local bakery to recreate the recipe -- with customers lining up to buy it. Round and flat like a pancake, 12 centimetres (five inches) in diameter, the bread was discovered during excavations at Kulluoba, a site near the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir. "This is the oldest baked bread to have come to light during an excavation, and it has largely been able to preserve its shape," said Murat Turkteki, archaeologist and director of the excavation. "Bread is a rare find during an excavation. Usually, you only find crumbs," he told AFP. "But here, it was preserved because it had been burnt and buried," he said. The bread was charred and buried under the entrance of a dwelling built around 3,300 BC. A piece had been torn off, before the bread was burnt, then buried when the house was built. "It makes us think of a ritual of abundance," Turkteki said. - 'Moved by this discovery' - Unearthed in September 2024, the charred bread has been on display at the Eskisehir Archaeological Museum since Wednesday. "We were very moved by this discovery. Talking to our excavation director, I wondered if we could reproduce this bread," said the city's mayor, Ayse Unluce. Analyses showed that the bread was made with coarsely ground emmer flour, an ancient variety of wheat, and lentil seeds, with the leaf of an as yet undetermined plant used as yeast. Ancient emmer seeds no longer exist in Turkey. To get as close as possible to the original recipe, the municipality, after analysing the ancient bread, decided to use Kavilca wheat, a variety that is close to ancient emmer, as well as bulgur and lentils. At the Halk Ekmek bakery (meaning "People's Bread" in Turkish), promoted by the municipality to offer low-cost bread, employees have been shaping 300 loaves of Kulluoba by hand every day. "The combination of ancestral wheat flour, lentils and bulgur results in a rich, satiating, low-gluten, preservative-free bread," said Serap Guler, the bakery's manager. The first Kulluoba loaves, marketed as 300-gramme (11-ounce) cakes that cost 50 Turkish lira (around $1.28), sold out within hours. "I rushed because I was afraid there wouldn't be any left. I'm curious about the taste of this ancient bread," said customer Suzan Kuru. - Drought resistant - In the absence of written traces, the civilisation of Kulluoba remains largely mysterious. In the Bronze Age, the Hattians, an Anatolian people who preceded the Hittites, lived in the Eskisehir region. "Kulluoba was a medium-sized urban agglomeration engaged in commercial activities, crafts, agriculture and mining. There was clearly a certain family and social order," said archaeologist Deniz Sari. The rediscovery of the bread has sparked interest in the cultivation of ancient wheats better adapted to drought. Once rich in water sources, the province of Eskisehir is today suffering from drought. "We're facing a climate crisis, but we're still growing corn and sunflowers, which require a lot of water," said Unluce, the local mayor. "Our ancestors are teaching us a lesson. Like them, we should be moving towards less thirsty crops," she added. The mayor wants to revive the cultivation of Kavilca wheat in the region, which is resistant to drought and disease. "We need strong policies on this subject. Cultivating ancient wheat will be a symbolic step in this direction," she said. "These lands have preserved this bread for 5,000 years and given us this gift. We have a duty to protect this heritage and pass it on."
