More details emerge in death of British tourist at Istanbul hotel

ISTANBUL

Police officials in Istanbul, trying to solve the death of a British tourist in the Karaköy neighborhood, have found that 35-year-old Anthony McDowell was alone in his hotel room just minutes before he fell from the seventh floor to the ground on Sept. 16.

In footage recorded by a local, McDowell is seen swinging outside his room’s window, trying to hold the other room’s window but loses balance and falls to his death.

Police have been investigating the case to find clues from the day of his arrival.

“McDowell came from Britain on Sept. 15. His ex-girlfriend Estee Mun B. also landed in Istanbul on the same day,” a source told daily Hürriyet.

The couple then met Raul M., an American citizen who has been in Istanbul for a month, and all three spent the night in the same room at the unlicensed hotel in Karaköy.

On the morning of Sept. 16, the couple and the American citizen quarreled in the lobby of the hotel, after which McDowell went to his room in anger.

Police have confirmed the testimony given by his ex-girlfriend and the couple’s American friend on seeing the CCTV footage that showed that McDowell went to his room alone. Some opiate drugs have been found in the room, according to police officials.

The reason why McDowell tried to swing from window to window is still unknown.