Ece İrtem was reported dead on 17 January 2025 at her home, and the first assessment pointed to a possible heart attack. She was 35. Her lawyer said the exact cause of death would only be known after an autopsy, while the investigation continued.

The news landed the same day İrtem joined the cast of Kızılcık Şerbeti as Işıl, a role that had added fresh attention to her career. In a short time, the report turned from a casting update into a death notice, with the public waiting for a medical finding that could confirm or overturn the first explanation.

That gap matters because the initial account and the legal statement do not yet match in certainty. The report described a possible heart attack, but the lawyer said the matter was still open and that the autopsy would determine the exact cause. Until then, the only firm facts are that the incident happened at the home where she was with her mother, and that the inquiry is not finished.

Selçuk Kılıç, a friend of İrtem, posted, “Çok üzüldüm çok, mekanın cennet olsun arkadaşım.” The message captured the shock around a death that arrived without warning and left the final medical answer pending.

İrtem had been born in Sivas on 14 June 1991, graduated from Yaşar Üniversitesi Opera ve Şan Ana Sanat Dalı Bölümü in 2014, and received acting training at Sadri Alışık Kültür Merkezi between 2014 and 2015. She was known for work in Yeni Gelin, Payitaht Abdülhamid, Kertenkele, Paramparça and Şeref Meselesi, and had moved into Kızılcık Şerbeti as Işıl shortly before the report of her death. The next and only question that now matters is the one her lawyer left open: what the autopsy will ultimately show.