"Tragic Discovery: My 20-Year-Old Grandson Found Dead in Hotel Lift Shaft During Our Dream Vacation—Evidence Suggests Murder, But Police Remain Unresponsive"

WHEN Mason Read found his lifeless brother at the bottom of a hotel lift shaft on their Turkey holiday, he was immediately convinced of foul play.

From a bloodied vape to eerie CCTV footage of a lift stopping for eight minutes, Tyler Kerry’s distraught family believe cops missed vital clues that point to murder – rather than a tragic accident. Here, Tyler’s grandmother reveals key unanswered questions and why she’s not giving up the fight for justice.

Tyler Kerry, from Basildon, Essex, was found dead at the bottom of a lift shaft in a hotel in TurkeyCredit: Facebook Tyler Kerry with his brother Mason Tyler at the holiday resort in Turkey the day before his death

Tyler, from Pitsea near Basildon, Essex, was discovered in just his socks and boxers at the all-inclusive Trendy Lara hotel near Antalya, , in November 2024.

The 20-year-old’s grandparents Ray and Collette Kerry, who brought him up and were on holiday with him, believe he was beaten up and thrown into the lift shaft.

An inquest at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court on Wednesday concluded that Tyler died due to multiple injuries sustained as a result of a fall from height, but the reason for the fall is unknown.

Turkish authorities ruled there was no sign of third-party involvement in his death – and say there’s no grounds for prosecution.

Tyler’s grandmother Colette, 57, tells The Sun: “It angers me knowing the Turkish authorities are getting away with murder.

“We’re not going to give up the fight. It’s all been left open, and we have so many questions unanswered.”

The furniture fitter was just three days into the family holiday when the horror unfolded.

Collette last saw Tyler just hours before his death, at about 10pm, before going to bed and leaving him with his siblings.

Tyler had gone to a nightclub in the lobby of the hotel with his brother and cousin, where they had been drinking.

Later, CCTV showed Tyler walking into the lift in his North Face joggers and turning right to press the button, Colette says.

He wasn’t seen again until his brother found him “flat on his face” in just his boxers and socks at the bottom of the lift shaft the next morning.

Paramedics tragically couldn’t save him.

Bloodied vape and trousers

Tyler’s trousers and vape, covered in blood, were also found on the first floor of the hotel with his smashed mobile phone.

Collette says: “The vape was covered in blood, which shows me foul play before my grandson was thrown – or whatever had happened with that lift shaft.

“I know my grandson was murdered for the simple reason his vape was found on level one, and he was found on the ground floor.

“If he has fallen, why would he not have his vape with him at the bottom of the lift shaft.

“Why would that vape have blood on it?”

Tyler’s family have slammed the into his death as “flawed”.

Forensic cops took evidence from handprints and a face smear left on an internal window on level one near the lift shaft.

He was just going up to his room because he’d forgotten some of his things. Then suddenly he’s been killed and his phone is smashed up on the first floor.

Mason Read, Tyler Kerry's brother

But the vape and Tyler’s trousers were quickly handed back to the family – despite Collette believing they could be key pieces of evidence that needed testing.

Collette was left “absolutely disgusted” by the Turkish police’s handling of the investigation.

area coroner Michelle Brown said “everything had been cleaned up and the lift was back open and operational as if nothing had happened” when the family returned to the hotel from the police station after Tyler’s death, the BBC reports.

Brown added: “If it had happened [in the UK], it would have been sealed off. Once you’ve lost that [evidence], you’ve lost it.”

Tyler’s brother, Mason, who made the grim discovery, is convinced he was murdered.

He’d left Tyler lying on a settee in the lobby to go and get a drink around 4am on the night he died.

But when Mason returned, he found only Tyler’s jacket and a tissue on the floor.

Mason, 18, and the others went up to their room looking for Tyler – but he was not there.

Collette says: “Eventually they found Tyler at the bottom of the lift shaft… Tyler’s body was on full view because it’s a complete glass lift all the way round.

“No trousers on, no top on, no jacket, no possessions on him whatsoever.”

Mason tells The Sun: “He was just going up to his room because he’d forgotten some of his things.

“Then suddenly he’s been killed, and his phone is smashed up on the first floor. I was with him all day, and his phone wasn’t smashed.”

Tyler’s family have said the Turkish investigation into his death was “flawed” Tyler was found dead at the bottom of an internal lift shaft (pictured)Credit: Collette Kerry

Eerie CCTV

Initially, Tyler’s family thought he may have fallen to his death after walking through the lift doors and directly into the cavity.

But CCTV footage showed the doors opening and Tyler walking into the lift carriage wearing his North Face joggers and pressing a button like normal.

The lift indicated it stopped at level one for eight minutes.

Colette says: “Something must have happened when he got out of the lift.

“Someone must have attacked him.

“After everything happened, they told us there was no one on that floor because it was under construction.

“But there were no signs or anything in the hotel to show that.”

Collette adds it also makes no sense why Tyler was found nearly naked.

The inquest heard that Turkish cops believed Tyler may have been feeling unwell after returning from the nightclub and opened a window in the lift shaft to get some air before losing his balance and falling 49ft.

Collette says Tyler was also found with two black eyes, which he couldn’t have received from a fall, as the lift cavity is a “flat surface”.

Brown recorded a narrative conclusion, rather than recording his death as an accident.

Turkish solicitors acting for Tyler’s family have been attempting to force a new investigation in an attempt to find any evidence of foul play.

The legal team have appealed the ruling “on the grounds of a flawed investigation”.

While this has offered Colette some hope, she said she has not been able to grieve her Manchester United-mad grandson.

She says: “There has been so much to do, and it has all been left up to us.

“I haven’t had time to grieve his death. Maybe now that the inquest is done, I can start.”

Ahead of the inquest, South Basildon and East Thurrock Independent MP James McMurdock threw his support behind the family.

The MP vowed to find better support for families facing tragedies abroad, saying they should not face the aftermath “alone”.

Trendy Lara hotel and the Turkish authorities have been contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for Trendy Lara previously said: “We would like to share our heartfelt condolences to the family of Tyler Kerry who sadly passed away while on holiday at Trendy Lara Hotel.

“We did continue to provide support to Tyler’s family at this incredibly difficult time.

“As this is a police investigation we are unable to comment further.”

Tyler’s family are still searching for answersCredit: PA Tyler was staying at the all-inclusive Trendy Lara hotel near AntalyaCredit: Tripadvisor