PHOENIX — Joao Franco, a cast member of Bravo’s “Below Deck” franchise, has been arrested in Turkey after a fight in the resort city of Bodrum that left a 17-year-old dead, according to Turkish media reports cited by CBS News and The Associated Press.
Franco, 36, and his brother Carlos were involved in an altercation with shopkeepers last Saturday evening, the private Demiroren News Agency reported. During the fight, teenager Muhammet Koyabakan fell and hit his head on the ground, according to the regional Voices Newspaper.
The brothers, who are Portuguese nationals, were detained and later formally arrested. Reports did not specify the charges, CBS News said.
According to Demiroren, the brothers told police they were attacked and acted in self-defense, and they denied hitting Koyabakan. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Franco appeared on “Below Deck Down Under” and “Below Deck Mediterranean” beginning in 2018 and on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” according to the reports. Demiroren identified him as a yacht captain.
“Below Deck,” which follows crews aboard luxury yachts, premiered on Bravo in 2013.
Sources: CBS News / The Associated Press. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Hamdigumus / CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
