Dilek Ertek, Tiffany’s Turkish tycoon, 71 plunges to her death during dream cruise. Swiss boyfriend waits 20 hours before reporting her missing.
At just just 5ft’2 how was a Turkish female tycoon able to fall over a metre-high guard rail adjoining her room to her death…?
A wealthy tycoon who owns Tiffany’s jewellery empire in Turkey has died after plunging to her death from a cruise ship during a dream South Sea Islands holiday with her Swiss lover.
Dilek Ertek, 71 – the distributor of Tiffany’s in Turkey for over 20 years – fell into South Pacific off the coast of Tahiti from the Norwegian Spirit ship on October 26, local media reported.
Her family have since compelled police to investigate her un-named Swiss national boyfriend who was with her on the trip, according to Turkish newspaper Sabah.
Ertek’s son Gokce Atuk says jewellery had gone missing from the safe in his mother’s cabin.
Swiss boyfriend questioned
CCTV footage indicated Ertkek likely falling to her death at 3am. Yet her unnamed lover only reported her missing some 20 hours later, according to local media.
Experts seem baffled over how Ertek – who was just 5ft2 and tee-total – was able to fall over the metre-high guard rail to her cabin.
The 74-year-old partner was kept under observation by the ship’s crew in a separate cabin before they then docked in Tahiti three days later.
He was reportedly questioned by police in Tahiti before being released due to a lack of evidence. He has since returned to Switzerland.
A search at sea for Ertek’s missing body has been discontinued.
Ertek had boarded the vessel on October 24 in Papeete Island, French Polynesia, along with her Swiss lover to celebrate her birthday in Bora Bora, a small South Pacific island.
The cruise was set to end in Honolulu, in Hawaii the dailymail reported.
Issues with the investigation
A search for her body was organised immediately but to no avail, with the vessel reporting the situation to the authorities and returning to the nearest port, on Papeete Island.
Security footage from the vessel showed an unknown figure falling into the sea during early morning hours, according to Turkish media.
Turkish media report that there are also issues with the investigation.
It is claimed that Tahitian authorities did not search Ertek’s room properly.
Some feel they have only gone through the motions as the death happened outside their area of jurisdiction.
But lawyers for Ertek have reportedly argued that the investigation is Tahiti’s responsibility as it was the closest country when the incident at sea happened.
Preventable death, foul play or even suicide?
Her lawyers are reportedly preparing to file a suit against the ship’s operator.
Gokce Atuk reportedly went to Tahiti to help with the search efforts, which have now been stopped, prompting him to launch legal challenges.
Captain Mustafa Can reportedly said: ‘It is difficult to fall from this type of passenger and cruise ship.’
Dilek Ertek was born in Istanbul and graduated from Mimar Sinan University, Department of Architecture.
She went on to study diamonds at the Gemological Institute of America in New York.
At the end of 1995, she opened the first Tiffany store in Istanbul. She was the distributor of Tiffany & Co. in Turkey for more than 20 years. It remained unclear what may have motivated Ertek to possibly take her own life…
Tiffany & Co. is a luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watches, personal accessories, and leather goods.
As of 2018, Tiffany operated 93 stores in the US and 321 stores worldwide,
