A court has sentenced two officials of a pest control company to 18 years in prison each, over the deaths of a German-Turkish family of four who died after being poisoned by pesticide used at the hotel where they were staying in Istanbul.
The court found company owner Serkan Kışı and his son, Zeki Kışı, guilty of causing multiple deaths through conscious negligence, handing each an 18-year prison sentence.
Hotel owner Hakan Oğlak was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison, while company employee Doğan Cağferoğlu received a sentence of 12 years and two months. Hotel employee Muhammad Moeen Ud In Chıshtı and another defendant were acquitted.
Prosecutors had sought prison terms ranging from two years and eight months to 22 years and six months for the defendants on charges of causing the deaths of multiple people through conscious negligence.
The victims, Çiğdem Böcek, her husband Servet Böcek and their children, Kadir Muhammet Böcek and Masal Böcek traveled from Germany to Istanbul on Nov. 9, 2025. They were hospitalized four days after with suspected poisoning and later died.
The trial opened on April 21 in Istanbul.
A report by Türkiye’s Forensic Medicine Institute concluded that the family died from poisoning caused by pesticide used to exterminate insects at the hotel in the Fatih district.
The report ruled out food poisoning and said phosphine gas, a toxic byproduct associated with pesticide use, was detected in samples taken from the hotel.
The investigation also found that the pest control company, identified as DSS, had been operating without the required authorization.
