DEATH PLUNGE DOUBT
Police still seeking answers about Rydges Esplanade Resort fall
POLICE are connecting the dots between a boozy weekend in a Cairns hotel and a young man plummeting to his death from a seventh-floor balcony.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ed Kinbacher (left) said investigators believed only two men were in the Rydges Esplanade Resort room in the moments before one plunged from the balcony onto a first-floor awning about 1.30am yesterday.
“The circumstances are suspicious,” he said.
The 24-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene while the other man, 19, was hospitalised with a fractured arm and was assisting police.
“Is this an accident, is this something that’s self-inflicted, or is it a third-party involvement? It’s an open question,” Sen-Sgt Kinbacher said.
POLICE are connecting the dots between a boozy weekend in a Cairns hotel and a young man plummeting to his death from a seventh-floor balcony.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ed Kinbacher said investigators believed only two men were in the Rydges Esplanade Resort room in the moments before one plunged from the balcony onto a first-floor awning about 1.30am yesterday.
“The circumstances are suspicious,” he said. “The two people were work colleagues and had come down just to celebrate over the Easter break.”
The 24-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene while the other man, 19, was hospitalised with a fractured arm and was assisting police.
Sen-Sgt Kinbacher said the workmates were part of a larger group of Atherton Tablelands youths celebrating the long weekend in Cairns.
Police were hoping to ascertain whether the duo had been visited by a woman before the fall.
“There were basically two groups occupying separate rooms in the motel, on separate floors,” he said.
“They were just mingling between the rooms during the course of the evening.
“There’s been some indication that a female visited the room. We don’t know if that’s right or not.”
Authorities have notified the “well-known” family of the man who died, and are slowly painting a picture of exactly what transpired.
“Is this an accident, is this something that’s self-inflicted, or is it a third-party involvement? It’s an open question,” Sen-Sgt Kinbacher said.
Police had interviewed hotel guests, including those whose room overlooked the awning where the body landed.
“This incident fell basically outside a hotel occupant’s room, so obviously quite a shocking event for those people involved,” Sen-Sgt Kinbacher said.
Anyone with information related to the incident was being urged to contact police.
“Certainly, there was potentially some unusual behaviour in the motel prior to this incident occurring, that they may have noticed,” Sen-Sgt Kinbacher said.
“We’d be interested in speaking to anyone that attended that room.
“There is a possibility there were other people that we presently haven’t spoken to that were in the room, so we’d ask them to come speak to us.”
A major incident room had been established and the scene would be guarded for the next two days as forensic examinations, interviews and further investigations continued.
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