A SOAP star died the day after her 35th birthday party from drinking a deadly amount of alcohol, her post-mortem has revealed.
Ece İrtem, best known for playing Işıl in the popular Turkish TV series Cranberry Sorbet, died of ethyl alcohol poisoning.
She died at her home in Istanbul, Turkey, after collapsing in front of her devastated mother.
Initial findings suggested Ece had died of a heart attack, but The Institute of Forensic Medicine ruled that the star died from alcohol poisoning after an extensive investigation.
395 milligrams of alcohol per decilitre (mg/dl) of blood was found in her system, nearly eight times Turkey’s legal drink-driving limit.
This blood alcohol level is deemed medically critical and can be fatal.
Experts concluded the exceptionally high blood alcohol level mixing with prescribed antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication caused the actress’ death.
The findings put to bed widespread rumours that Ece had died from an illness contracted from a monkey bite.
She had been bitten by a monkey on May 27, during a trip to Thailand, Ece’s lawyer Uğur Gökkoyun confirmed.
Macaques in Thailand can carry infectious diseases including rabies and herpes.
But Uğur explained that she had taken a 21-day course of preventative medication before safely stopping it after 11 days.
And the autopsy found no evidence suggesting that the monkey bite was at all linked to her death.
Ece had posted on social media just a day before her death thanking fans for their sweet birthday wishes.
Heartbreaking tributes have poured in for the young actress, saying she was full of love and happiness.
Caglar Kuru, her friend from university, wrote: “I cannot find the words. She was a person whose heart was full of love, energy and happiness.
“Living through this pain is truly very sad.”
Ece studied at Yasar University’s Opera and Vocal Studies Department before going on to train as an actress.
The soap star kicked off her television career in 2014 before going on to appear in series including Runaway Brides, That’s My Life and New Bride.
She also starred in shows including Payitaht Abdulhamid and Mr Wrong.
Ece was buried at Yenikoy Cemetery in Kusadasi, on Turkey’s Aegean coast.
But the funeral sparked a furious row after several people were spotted filming and taking photos of the coffin.
Footage of the moment went viral on social media and the fans were slammed for their disrespect towards the grieving family.