My 20 year old grandson was found dead in the hotel elevator during our dream vacation, clues point to murder but the police didn’t listen

When Mason Reed finds his lifeless brother at the bottom of the hotel elevator shaft during his Türkiye vacation, he is immediately convinced of foul play.

From a blood-soaked rape to terrifying CCTV footage of an elevator stopping for eight minutes, Tyler Carey’s distraught family believe police 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, from Pitsea, near Basildon, Essex, was found in just his socks and boxers at the all-inclusive trendy Lara Hotel near Antalya, Turkey in November 2024.

The 20-year-old’s grandparents Ray and Colette Carey, who raised him and were holidaying with him, believe he was beaten and thrown into a lift shaft.

An inquest held at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court on Wednesday concluded that Tyler died from multiple injuries caused by a fall from height, but the cause of the fall is unknown.

Turkish authorities ruled that there was no indication of third-party involvement in his death – and said there were no grounds for prosecution.

Tyler’s grandmother Colette, 57, told The Sun: “It makes me angry to know that Turkish officials are getting away with murder.

“We’re not going to give up the fight. This has all been left open, and we have a lot of questions unanswered.”

The furniture fitter was just three days into the family vacation when the horrifying incident occurred.

Colette last saw Tyler a few hours before his death, at about 10 p.m., before going to bed and leaving him with his siblings.

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

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

He was not seen again until his brother found him “flat on his face” at the bottom of an elevator shaft in only his boxers and socks. next Morning.

Tragically the paramedics could not save him.

Blood stained vape and trousers

Tyler’s blood-soaked trousers and vape, along with his broken mobile phone, were also found on the first floor of the hotel.

Colette says: “The weep was covered in blood, which shows me foul play before my grandson was thrown – or whatever happened down that lift shaft.

“I know that my grandson was murdered only because his vape was found on level one, and he was found on the ground floor.

“If he has fallen, why wouldn’t his vaporizer be with him at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

“Why would there be blood on that vape?”

Tyler’s family has described the police investigation into his death as “flawed”.

Forensic police took evidence from handprints and facial stains left on the interior window on level one near the lift shaft.

He was just going to his room because he had forgotten some of his things. Then suddenly he is murdered and his phone is smashed on the first floor.

mason read, tyler carey’s brother

But the weep and Tyler’s trousers are immediately returned to the family – despite Colette’s belief that they may be important pieces of evidence that need to be tested.

Colette was left “absolutely disgusted” by the manner of the Turkish police investigation.

When the family returned to the hotel from the police station after Tyler’s death, Essex area coroner Michelle Brown said, “Everything was cleared and the elevators were back up and running as if nothing had happened.” BBC Report.

Brown said: “If it had happened (in the UK), it would have been shut down. Once you lose that (evidence), you lose it.”

Tyler’s brother, Mason, who made the grisly discovery, is convinced that she was murdered.

The night she died, she left Tyler lying on a sofa in the lobby at about 4 a.m. so she could go get a drink.

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

18-year-old Mason and the others went to his room to look for Tyler – but he was not there.

Colette says: “They eventually found Tyler at the bottom of the elevator shaft…Tyler’s body was completely visible because it was an all-glass elevator.

“No trousers, no top, no jacket, no assets on top of that.”

Mason told The Sun: “He was just going to his room because he had forgotten some of his things.

“Then suddenly he was murdered, and his phone was broken on the first floor. I was with him all day, and his phone was not broken.”

awesome cctv

Initially, Tyler’s family thought he might have died after falling through the elevator doors and directly into the cavity.

But CCTV footage shows the doors opening and Tyler North Face walking into the lift car, wearing joggers, and pressing a button like normal.

The elevator indicated that she had been on level one for eight minutes.

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

“Someone must have attacked him.

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

“But there was no sign or anything at the hotel to show that.”

Colette says it also doesn’t make sense why Tyler was found nearly naked.

The inquest heard that Turkish police believe Tyler may have been feeling unwell after returning from a nightclub and opened a window in the lift shaft to get air, but lost his balance and fell 49 feet.

Colette says Tyler was also found to have two black eyes, which he could not have got from the fall, as the elevator cavity is a “flat surface”.

Instead of recording his death as an accident, Brown recorded a narrative conclusion.

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

The legal team has appealed the verdict “based on a flawed investigation”.

Although it has given Colette some hope, she said she has not been able to cope with grieving her Manchester United-mad grandson.

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

“I don’t have time to mourn his death. Perhaps now that the investigation is complete, I can start.”

Ahead of the inquest, James McMurdock, independent MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, offered his support to the family.

The MP vowed to find better support for families facing tragedies abroad and said they should not have to face the consequences “alone”.

The trendy Lara Hotel and Turkish authorities have been contacted for comment.

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

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

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