We’ll never give up the fight to find out what happened to loving Kirsty
Family’s tearful tribute to Scot who died in balcony plunge mystery
THE family of a woman who fell to her death in Benidorm honoured her memory at Christmas and vowed to keep pushing Spanish courts to reopen their inquiry.
Kirsty Maxwell died in mysterious circumstances in April 2017 while on a hen party weekend.
The 27-year-old, from Livingston, West Lothian, plunged from the tenth floor of the Apartamentos Payma, off the balcony of a room occupied by five Britons.
A Spanish judge ruled in September that there was ‘no evidence’ the room’s occupants, a group of friends from Nottingham, were involved in the tragedy.
But Mrs Maxwell’s parents, Brian and Denise Curry, have since started a legal fight to overturn that decision, and the family have hired a retired Scottish detective, David Swindle, to review the case.
They issued a statement on social media saying they were ‘resolute’ in their pursuit of fresh information.
Mrs Maxwell’s family also said they would set a place for her over the festive period ‘to honour and remember the loving and caring girl we all miss’.
Their statement read: ‘As each year goes by it does not get any easier. Every time our legal team request basic lines of inquiry to be done the court refuses them.
‘In conjunction with our lawyer, Lorena Soler Bernabeu, we await an appeal to the higher court in Spain regarding the continual refusal to allow progression of evidential opportunities.’
The family have asked judge Ana Isabel Garcia-Galbis to review her ruling made in September, which concluded there is no proof that
Mrs Maxwell’s death was a homicide or that the five former suspects could have been involved.
Mr and Mrs Curry’s legal team claim that the judge mistakenly made the amount of alcohol Mrs Maxwell drank the night before her death a defining factor in what happened to her. They have also highlighted her failure to sanction DNA tests on the men.
The former suspects’ lawyer, Roberto Sanchez, countered with a submission urging the judge to reject the appeal, highlighting a police report concluding that Mrs Maxwell’s death was most likely a terrible accident – and denying claims of contradictions in his clients’ versions of events.
If the judge stands by her decision, Mrs Maxwell’s family is expected to take their battle to a higher court, where three judges will be asked to look at the case.
Mrs Maxwell, who got married only months before the tragedy, fell from the balcony less than 12 hours after arriving in Benidorm.
She had returned to her apartment on the ninth floor in the early hours and was filmed asleep shortly before 7am on the morning
‘Honour and remember her’
she died. About an hour later, it is believed that she mistakenly entered an apartment on the floor above, which was occupied by the five British men.
Inside was Joseph Graham, 32, a £49,000-a-year logistics manager with Amazon, who opened the door. Also in the apartment were British champion cage fighter Ricky Gammon, 31, Anthony Holehouse, 34, Callum Northridge, 27, and Daniel Bailey, 32.
The men were arrested but not charged. In September they were told they would face no charges.
Judge Garcia-Galbis said in her ruling: ‘There is no evidence of the participation of the men investigated in the death of the victim.’ She said tests had shown that Mrs Maxwell was ‘seriously affected’ by the alcohol she had drunk.
At the time, Mr Swindle said: ‘Spanish police did not manage the crime scene, significant witnesses, exhibits and evidence as would be expected with such a tragic loss.’
The family’s statement also reiterated an appeal for anyone who knows anything about Mrs Maxwell’s death to come forward.
It added: ‘We continue to appeal to the many UK visitors to Benidorm and locals to contact us with any information which can assist.’