Family sees no foul play in death of British journalist

LONDON – The Associated Press

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The family of a British woman who died in an Istanbul airport bathroom while in transit to Iraq says it agrees with Turkish authorities that there were no signs of foul play.

A statement released on Oct. 21 by Jacky Sutton’s family and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting where she worked indicates they are satisfied with the Turkish investigation.

Turkish officials had said Oct. 19 she took her own life after missing a connecting flight to northern Iraq. Sister Jenny Sutton said the family was “deeply skeptical about initial reports” but now believe that no one attacked Jacqueline.

The family said Turkish authorities have cooperated fully and provided a complete dossier of information about the case. The family and the institute said their investigation will continue aided by an independent expert.

The initial forensic report found that Sutton’s death was caused by suicide. The Bakırköy Public Prosecutor’s Office is also focusing on suicide, on the grounds that the toilet cabin where the British woman was found dead had been locked from the inside. 

Video footage shows that Sutton had waited at the last gate for the bus that takes passengers to the plane, and that after all passengers had left she went to the office to report that she had missed the plane.

Sutton had taken over her job at IWPR in June following the death of her predecessor, who was killed by a car bomb in Baghdad in May. The institute’s executive director, Anthony Borden, said staff were in “total shock.”