The family of a young man found dead at the bottom of a lift shaft in a Turkish hotel have fresh hope after a judge ordered police to reopen their investigation.
Tyler Kerry, 20, was dressed just in his socks and boxer shorts when he was found fatally injured at the Trendy Lara hotel in Kundu, near Antalya, in November last year.
The rest of his clothes were found elsewhere next to mobile phone and his bloodstained vape, but Turkish authorities claimed the young man had been drinking and there was no evidence of foul play.
The labourer from Pitsea in Essex, was on his first family holiday abroad, and his family suspect he was murdered less than 36 hours after they booked into the hotel.
Now a Turkish judge has ordered a fresh probe amid claims that another young guest reported being beaten up by security guards in the basement of the building.
Lawyer Michael Polak of the campaign group Justice Abroad is representing the family and said they were ‘very pleased’ by the development.
‘It does ring some alarm bells that something similar has happened at the same hotel in relation to the security and it’s something that, at the very least, needs to be investigated,’ he told the BBC.
‘We hope that we’ll still be able to find evidence and be able to help the family to find those answers they need.’
Tyler had been travelling across the country with his grandparents, brother and girlfriend when the group arrived at the all inclusive hotel in the popular resort city on November 28.
Speaking days after his death, Mr Kerry’s great uncle, Alex Price, said his nephew had stayed out later than the rest of the family to watch the Manchester United match against FK Bodø/Glimt.
And it was the following morning before his family noticed he was missing.
Following a search led by his brother, Mason, Tyler was found unresponsive at about 7am, and medics called to the hotel were unable to save him.
At the time, Turkish authorities told the family that Tyler had been drinking and there was no evidence of ‘intervention’ by a third party.
However, his family said they were ‘disgusted’ by how swiftly Turkish police ruled out that anyone else was involved in their son’s death.
It is understood that the scene was cleaned up by hotel staff and the lift put back into use just hours later.
Mr Polak said critical evidence may have been lost in the clean-up process, but is hopeful the fresh probe will still allow authorities to find anything that may have been overlooked at the time.
And he said the new inquiry was sparked in part after the family had been contacted by another tourist who had stayed at the Trendy Lara Hotel just months earlier.
They claimed their son had been ‘beaten up’ by security guards in the basement, close to where Mr Kerry was later found.
The new probe by Turkish authorities will look into both Mr Kerry’s death and the alleged assault on a holidaymaker, he added.
Mr Polak said he expected the hotel to cooperate and Tui, the tour operator under which the holiday was booked, to take an interest in the findings of the probe for the safety of other customers.
Following his death, Mr Kerry’s girlfriend Molly Underdown paid tribute on Facebook to ‘the most caring, loving, funny boy I have ever met’.
The grieving woman continued: ‘He lit up every room he went in with his silly little raps or his jokes. May my boy rest in peace’.
Paying tribute to his nephew, Mr Price offered poignant words about the Manchester United-mad football fan.
‘He was an energetic, exuberant, young lad who was just settling into his life.
‘He had a stable job, had just got himself a new car and was beginning to think about moving in with his girlfriend.’
The family set up a GoFundMe to help repatriate Tyler’s body to the UK. His funeral was finally held on 25 January at Pitsea Crematorium, following a private autopsy.
They are now continuing to fundraise to help pay for the ‘ongoing legal battle to uncover the truth’, their GoFundMe page states.
‘We want to ensure that a thorough and transparent investigation is carried out by Turkish Authorities and that those responsible for Tyler’s death are held to account.’
The page has so far raised almost £8,500 of a £15,000 target.
An inquest was also opened and adjourned into Mr Kerry’s death in December.
Mr Kerry’s great uncle Alex Price described him as ‘an energetic, exuberant, young lad who was just settling into his life’.
Area coroner, Michelle Brown, said at the time that Turkish authorities would ‘not engage with the UK coroner’s service at all’ and was awaiting further updates from them.
A spokesperson for the Presidency of Turkey said in a statement that they are ‘deeply saddened’ by Mr Kerry’s death and added that the country, alongside the UK, is a participant in the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
The statement added that they ‘will make their best efforts to assist the relevant authorities in the UK’.
MailOnline has contacted Trendy Lara hotel and Tui for comment.
