Nurse ‘had not fallen’

Press, 3 December 1982, Page 6

Nurse ‘had not fallen’

NZPA Leeds A former policeman, Ronald Smith, told an inquest yesterday of how he had examined his daughter’s body shortly after her death in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and concluded there was "no way” she had fallen a considerable distance on to a cold marble floor. He told a Coroner’s jury at Leeds of how he had “insisted on seeing all her body and examined everything there was to be examined.” He had gone to Saudi Arabia to identify the body as that of his daughter, Helen, who died after a party in the sixth floor flat of a British surgeon, Richard Arnot, and whose body was found with that of a Dutch ship’s master, Johannes Ot-

ten, at the foot of a block of flats where the party was held. They were said to have fallen 20 metres from a balcony. Mr Smith said that he had expected “to see terrible things.” “My daughter’s body was perfect, as though she had just laid down. There’s no way my daughter had fallen any considerable distance on to a solid marble floor.” Mr Smith also told of an interview he had had in Saudi Arabia with Dr Arnot. While it took place they had been surrounded by police officers armed with “tommyguns,” who became agitated. The Coroner, Mr Philip Gill, asked Mr Smith whether as a result of his inquiries, “has anything come to your knowledge of relevance, which is admissible as

evidence, to indicate whether she had fallen from some other balcony in some other circumstances.” “Yes,” Mr Smith replied. Mr Gill: “From where did you say she had fallen?” Mr Smith: “I prefer not to answer that.” Mr Gill asked if there was any evidence indicating Helen’s presence in another flat. Mr Smith: “Yes.” What is the source of this evidence? I would prefer not to answer. Mr Gill said that he was giving him the opportunity to tell him of any evidence. Mr Smith: “There was evidence to indicate not only Helen but Richard Arnot and others were in another flat. “I will go into that when Arnot has been in the box.”