They poisoned bedbugs: sentenced to 18 years each for the death of a family in an Istanbul hotel

In Turkey, a court delivered a verdict in a high-profile case over the death of a family of tourists from Hamburg, who died of poisoning after hotel rooms were treated for bedbugs in Istanbul; the tragedy occurred in November 2025.

At first a food poisoning scenario was considered, but the appearance of similar symptoms in other guests directed the investigation to a chemical factor related to the disinsection of the premises.

Forensic medical examination established that the company that carried out the treatment illegally used the highly toxic pesticide aluminum phosphide, which, upon contact with moisture, releases the deadly gas phosphine that penetrated the room. As a result, the couple and their two young children suffered severe poisoning and soon died in hospital.

The court classified the defendants’ actions as causing death by negligence. The hotel owner was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison. The owner of the disinsection company and his son received 18 years’ imprisonment each. Another company employee was sentenced to 12 years and 2 months in prison. The hotel administrators were acquitted.

The parties have the right to appeal this decision.

Earlier we wrote:

• In the Mykolaiv region, a woman received a 5-year suspended sentence for attempting to sell more than a kilogram of mercury for $800,000
• Bedbugs in the bed destroyed health for half a year: in Mykolaiv the couple did not immediately realize what was happening