I’m innocent, says balcony suspect
Denial of Brit held over hen party death
THE British man arrested over the death of a woman on a hen party in Benidorm yesterday insisted he was innocent.
Joseph Graham, 32, was held by police after Kirsty Maxwell, 27, fell ten storeys from the balcony of his room at the Spanish resort.
He was quizzed on suspicion of homicide and spent two nights in a police cell before being allowed to return to his Nottingham home on Tuesday.
In a statement released by his partner Harriet Burley, who is the mother of his young children, Mr Graham said: ‘I have been advised by my Spanish lawyer that despite me not being charged with any wrongdoing, the investigation into this tragic accident is still ongoing.
‘Therefore sub judice that I am unable to say anything at this time other than that I am innocent of any wrongdoing.’
Mrs Maxwell had been at the Costa Blanca resort with 20 other party guests. Her room was directly below that of Mr Graham and four friends who were in a separate party.
Investigators have not determined if Mrs Maxwell was pushed, jumped or fell, and are yet to drop the investigation into recruitment manager Mr Graham. Mrs Maxwell, from Livingston near Edinburgh, who married husband Adam last September, went to bed at about 4am on Saturday at the Apartamentos Payma.
It is believed she woke up shortly before 8am, left her flat dressed but barefoot, and was let into the men’s apartment after knocking on the door. Mr Graham is understood to have told police she had been acting ‘mad, drunk or drugged’.
He said she headed for the bathroom before trying to get through an internal window then going on to the balcony.
Mrs Maxwell died instantly after plunging 100ft from the two-star holiday block. Detectives are understood to be considering whether she had been sleepwalking before she fell.
On Tuesday, a friend of Mr Graham said the fact he had not been charged and could return to the UK ‘speaks for itself’.
Mr Graham appeared before a judge on Monday after report-
edly being too drunk to make a statement to police when arrested at his hotel room. Judge Ana Garcia Isabel Galbis rejected the plea from Mrs Maxwell’s family to remand him in custody. But she warned he may have to return to Spain. Investigators said there was no evidence at this stage pointing to criminal wrongdoing but her family, who have travelled to theto fight resort,for a have prosecution.hired a lawyer
Officers are said to believe Mrs Maxwell’s death was an accident, with no signs of any criminality. Staff at the apartment block believe she fell, possibly after leaning too far over the balcony rail. ‘We do not think it was a criminal act but just an accident,’ said a member of staff at the front desk. ‘Accidents do happen. This is one of them.’
‘Mad, drunk or drugged’