Below Deck Star Joao Franco Arrested in Turkey After Teen’s Death
João Franco of Below Deck Down Under and his brother Karlos were reportedly arrested in Turkey after a November 7 fight in Bodrum that allegedly left a 17-year-old employee dead. CCTV footage has surfaced. The charges are not yet known.
Below Deck star João Franco and his brother, Karlos Franco, were reportedly arrested in Turkey over the weekend after a fight that allegedly left a 17-year-old boy dead. It is not yet known what charges, if any, the brothers face.
Franco appeared on Below Deck Down Under, part of the Below Deck reality franchise. Bravo, the franchise's network, declined to comment through a representative.
What happened in Bodrum
The altercation took place at a local business in the Bodrum district of Muğla on Saturday, November 7, according to reports. An argument allegedly broke out between the brothers and employees over profanity.
Turkish local media reports say the dispute moved outside the shop and turned physical. A 17-year-old employee reportedly fell to the ground, suffered a head injury and went into cardiac arrest.
He was pronounced dead after treatment at a nearby hospital, according to one Turkish report. That report did not name the two suspects. Another local account said the teenager was in critical condition.
CCTV footage
On Wednesday, November 11, CCTV footage of the reported fight was published. It shows two men believed to be João and Karlos leaving the store and engaging in the altercation.
In the footage, the man believed to be Karlos appears to throw the first visible punch. João appears to try to separate his brother from the others involved, before seemingly throwing a punch himself.
People magazine has contacted local authorities in Bodrum for further information. No official account of the investigation or the charges has been reported.
Franco's Below Deck career
Franco has appeared in the Below Deck franchise since 2018, beginning with Below Deck Mediterranean. He made his Below Deck Down Under debut in 2023, first in the show's second season and later in season 4.
His Instagram account is currently private. There, he describes himself as a "superyacht captain."
In an interview, he called season 4 his "final season." He said the show "neatly mirrored my real-world career progression," adding that across four series he moved "from deckhand to lead deckhand, bosun, and finally captain."
The details of the Bodrum incident come from early reports and the CCTV footage, and the brothers' legal status has not been confirmed by Turkish authorities.
