Soap Star Died From Drinking Fatal Amount of Alcohol at 35th Birthday Party, Autopsy Shows

Turkish soap opera star Ece İrtem died from alcohol poisoning.

As In Touch previously reported, the 35-year-old — best known for playing Işıl in the popular Turkish TV series Cranberry Sorbet — passed away on June 15, just one day after celebrating her 35th birthday.

İrtem died at her home in Istanbul, Turkey, after collapsing in front of her mother.

While initial medical evaluations suggested she died from a heart attack, according to The U.S. Sun, an autopsy released on Thursday, July 9, officially ruled her cause of death as ethyl alcohol poisoning.

Per an examination conducted by The Institute of Forensic Medicine, İrtem had a blood alcohol level of 395 mg/dL, which is equivalent to a BAC of 0.395 percent, and nearly eight times Turkey’s legal drunk-driving limit.

Experts conducting the examination ultimately concluded that it was the mixture of a fatal amount of alcohol, combined with prescribed antidepressants, that led to the actress’s death.

The autopsy comes amid rumors that İrtem died after being bitten by a macaque monkey — which can carry infectious diseases like rabies and herpes — while in Thailand in May.

While her lawyer, Uğur Gökkoyun, confirmed to The U.S. Sun that the actress was bitten by a monkey on May 27, the autopsy found no evidence suggesting that the bite was linked to her passing.

Uğur did tell the outlet, however, that she took a 21-day course of preventative medication following the incident, before safely stopping it after 11 days.

According to the outlet, İrtem, who came to fame in 2014 by appearing on Turkish programs like Yeni Gelin, Bay Yanlış, Mahkum and more, shared a final social media post just one day before her death, thanking fans for their sweet birthday wishes.

While comments have since been turned off on her posts, The U.S. Sun reports that a host of tributes have come in for the soap star, from friends and fans alike.

“I cannot find the words. She was a person whose heart was full of love, energy, and happiness,” İrtem’s college friend, Caglar Kuru, wrote. “Living through this pain is truly very sad.”

İrtem was laid to rest on June 17 at Yenikoy Cemetery in Kusadasi, on Turkey’s Aegean coast.