Below Deck alum Joao Franco arrested in Turkey after teen dies

A former cast member of the Bravo reality TV series Below Deck has been arrested in Turkey after a fight that ended in the death of a 17-year-old, according to local media reports and the Associated Press.

Joao Franco, 36, and his brother Carlos were allegedly involved in an altercation with shop owners in the resort city of Bodrum on Saturday, according to the AP, citing the Demiroren News Agency, a private Turkish outlet.

The brothers were intoxicated, and an argument broke out when they started swearing, Demiroren reported. During the subsequent fight, teenager Muhammet Koyabakan fell and hit his head on the ground. He was taken to a hospital but died on Monday.

The brothers, who were raised in Zimbabwe, are Portuguese nationals and were detained and formally arrested after the incident. News reports did not specify the charges against them. Demiroren reported the brothers told police they were attacked and acted in self-defence. They denied hitting Koyabakan.

Page Six reported that Joao Franco and his brother, Karlos Franco, got into a verbal dispute with the employees of a clothing store in the Bodrum district of Muğla on Saturday night. Local outlets X Bodrum News and Haberler.com reported that the siblings were using "profanity," which allegedly escalated the argument into a physical altercation just outside the shop.

Page Six said it obtained CCTV footage of the incident. According to Page Six, the footage shows one of the brothers throwing the first punch, and Joao Franco stepping in to separate his brother from an employee. Page Six reported that the employee appeared to lunge back and swing his fist, and multiple other employees came out of the shop to step in. Page Six reported that the group was seen punching and kicking each other, and that Joao Franco appeared to swing his fist, after which one of the guys fell to the ground and lay there motionless until the fight broke up less than a minute later.

According to Page Six, the individual who fell was a 17-year-old store staffer who hit his head on some steps upon falling. X Bodrum News reported that the teen sustained a severe head injury and suffered cardiac arrest but was revived by emergency medical responders before being transported to Muğla Training and Research Hospital in critical condition. Haberler.com reported on Monday that he succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital.

Page Six reported that Joao and Karlos were subsequently taken to Bodrum Courthouse and are currently in prison, with one source telling Page Six the duo is "awaiting the next steps." Reps for the police, prosecutor and courthouse in Bodrum did not respond to Page Six's inquiries. Reps for Bravo declined to comment.

Franco has appeared on multiple seasons of Below Deck Down Under and Below Deck Mediterranean as a yacht bosun, and on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. He describes himself on social media as a "Superyacht Captain."

Below Deck follows the lives of luxury yacht crew members as they serve and interact with one another and charter guests who pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for multi-day excursions.

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