WITNESSES CALLED IN HEN NIGHT DEATH PROBE

Four summoned in hen night death case Judge calls the occupants of the flat from which Kirsty Maxwell fell to her death in Benidorm last month as witnesses in the ongoing investigation

THE BENIDORM court conducting the proceedings over the death of Kirsty Maxwell, who fell from a 10th-floor holiday apartment on April 29, has ruled that four men - R.G., C.N., A.H. and D.B. - who were in the apartment when she fell from the balcony, are to return to Benidorm and appear before Judge Ana Isabel Garcia-Galbis for questioning.

Kirsty’s family’s lawyer, Luis Miguel Zumaquero, had previously presented a request for the men to be summoned to court for questioning.

A fifth man - 32-year-old J.G. - was arrested by the National Police at the time, although released later.

Sr Zumaquero said that the family “welcomed the judge’s decision”. He says the court ruling is vital to find out what really happened that night.

The men called as witnesses have not been accused of any specific crime, as court proceedings from the beginning have been to rule out the involvement of third parties in Kristy’s death.

As private prosecutor, however, Sr Zumaquero understands that there are indeed contradictions in the statements of the five men over what happened that morning. J.G. stated he was alone when Kirsty jumped, while C.N. claimed J.G. was with her at the time.

Sr Zumaquero had requested a full inspection of the apartment with the witnesses and judge, as well as face-to-face questioning of the five men and a statement from the apartment's receptionist on duty at the time.

The judge deemed the face-to face questioning unnecessary as there were no significant contradictions in their statements to the police to warrant it. She also deemed unnecessary the inspection of the apartment, although the National Police have been asked to provide the CCTV footage of the area where Kristy fell close to the pool.

The judge also accepted the request for the Apartohotel Payma receptionist to give a statement.

The four men are set to appear in court in July, and their criminal records have been requested from UK police authorities.

What is known up to now is that on the night of April 29, Kirsty, from Livingston in Scotland, and a group of 20 female friends were out celebrating a hen night party. They had been in several of Benidorm’s clubs until the early hours of the morning.

At some stage Kirsty felt unwell and returned to her holiday flat at the Payma holiday apartments on Avenida de Almería. According to police, she went to bed and several of her friends even took snaps of her when they arrived at the flat. But at around 08.00 she got up and left their ninth-floor apartment, leaving her keys and phone behind.

Investigators believe she was trying to find some of her other friends who were staying in the floor above to get medication, but she knocked on the wrong door.

The next few minutes are a mystery.

Police say J.G. opened the door and there were another four men inside. It was been alleged that the men, all bodybuilders, had been consuming alcohol and cocaine. When J.G. was taken for questioning, police had to wait for the effects of alcohol and drugs to wear off.

J.G. claimed Kirsty "was mad, drunk or drugged" and headed for the bathroom before trying to get through an indoor window and then going out onto the balcony from which she jumped. He insisted he did nothing wrong and only asked her to leave the apartment. However, initial police reports claimed she may have felt intimidated by the men or even harassed. Officers believe she may have jumped trying to reach the pool below.

The police report confirmed that Kirsty had consumed alcohol but not drugs. The preliminary post-mortem report confirmed the violent death and an in-depth toxicology report is still pending.

J.G. was released pending further inquiries over the incident, his passport was not confiscated and he was allowed to return home. His friends were originally only questioned by police as witnesses.

Kirsty's family insists there is "no reason at all" to believe she would have voluntarily jumped from the balcony to a certain death. Poolside CCTV footage shows Kirsty fell feetfirst - one of the reasons the defendants claim proves she jumped and was not thrown over the balcony.

Kirsty’s husband Adam feels “something dark happened in the room” and that the five know the answer to what really took place.