Turkish music producer Erol Köse, well known in the music industry and former partner of singer Gülşen, died today after falling from the 16th floor of a building in the Sarıyer district, north of Istanbul‘s European side. His death has sent shockwaves through public opinion in Turkey and especially in the art world, where he had produced the albums of several singers and bands.
Erol Köse, 61, was killed in an incident this afternoon, dying instantly after falling from the 16th floor of the building where he lived. The famous producer had reportedly been suffering from health problems for some time and had not left his home for the last three months.
The incident took place at around 15:00 local time (13:00 CET) in a residential area of the Maslak district. Several people alerted the authorities after seeing a man lying motionless on the ground in front of a 16-storey block of flats. Medical teams on the scene could only confirm death, identifying the victim as Erol Köse. The police, meanwhile, took a statement from Mevlüt Y., a 64-year-old friend of the deceased, who reportedly lived with him in the same house and occasionally looked after him, according to the Turkish daily Hürriyet.
In his first statement to the police, Mevlüt Y. said that Köse suffered from psychological problems and a heart condition, and confirmed that he had not left the house for about 3 months; he also explained that he had left Köse alone when he went downstairs to the entrance hall of the building, and that it was when he returned that he looked down and saw him lying on the floor of the ground floor. There is a possibility that the fall may have occurred from an area of the building, located on the 16th floor, which is used as a rented office.
Istanbul prosecutor’s office investigating the death
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed the opening of an ex officio investigation to clarify what happened. In the meantime, several Turkish media are suggesting that Köse committed suicide by jumping from the top of the building, although at the moment there is no official confirmation of the cause of death, pending completion of the details of the investigation.
In connection with this hypothesis, an alleged handwritten note attributed to Köse has been reported in the media, which reads: “I have ALS, I had to do it. It is my responsibility. Please take good care of my cat”, thus alluding to the fact that he might being suffering from ALS.
A doctor by profession, he left the profession in 1995 to become a music manager and producer
Born on 21 September 1965 in Elazığ in the east of the country, Erol Köse is one of Turkey’s best known producers, as well as a singer and TV host. Although he graduated in medicine from Hacettepe University as an ophthalmologist, he left the profession in 1995 to become a music producer and artist manager. During his career, he produced the first albums of several bands and artists.
In October 2006, Turkish singer Burçin filed a complaint against him for alleged ‘sexual harassment’, and was found guilty two years later and ordered to pay a substantial fine. During his life, Erol Köse also suffered two gun attacks, being shot once in the heel and twice in the leg, allegedly because of mafia-related problems. He was married twice and has a daughter from his first marriage, Dijan Nazlan, to whom, according to the latest information, his body was handed over; following Muslim custom, he was buried this afternoon after a religious funeral at the Zincirlikuyu mosque in the Beşiktaş district.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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