A yacht captain who appeared on the American reality television series 'Below Deck' has been arrested in Turkey following a street fight in the resort city of Bodrum that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old, local media reported Thursday.
Joao Franco, 36, and his brother Carlos allegedly became embroiled in a confrontation with shopkeepers in Bodrum last Saturday evening, according to the private Demiroren News Agency.
Demiroren identified Franco as a yacht captain who featured on the Bravo channel's 'Below Deck Down Under' and 'Below Deck Mediterranean' beginning in 2018. He also appeared on 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.'
According to Demiroren, the brothers had been drinking and an argument erupted after they began swearing. In the fight that followed, teenager Muhammet Koyabakan fell and struck his head on the ground. The regional Voices Newspaper reported that he sustained a severe head injury and went into cardiac arrest, though medics managed to revive him at the scene.
Koyabakan was transported to a hospital, where he died on Monday.
The Franco brothers, both Portuguese nationals, were detained by police and later formally arrested. News reports did not specify what charges they face. Demiroren said the pair told police they had been attacked and responded in self-defense, and they denied striking Koyabakan.
Bodrum, a port city on the Aegean Sea, is a popular destination for wealthy yacht owners. Billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have visited in recent years.
'Below Deck' chronicles the lives of crew members working aboard luxury yachts as they deal with one another and with their guests. The program premiered on Bravo in 2013.
In his official biography on Bravo, Franco wrote that he had eight years of experience in the yachting industry, describing himself as 'a jack of all trades and a master of none.'
Speaking to the Majorca Daily Bulletin earlier this year, Franco said he and his brother ran a business building recreational vehicles in South Africa before moving into yachting. 'The show neatly mirrored my real-world career progression. Across the four series, I moved from deckhand to lead deckhand, bosun, and finally captain,' he said. 'I never wanted to be a deckhand forever, the goal was always the bridge, so I spent every spare moment doing courses to move up.'
