Woman who died by Benidorm balcony fall hadn't taken drugs
No drugs were found in Kirsty Maxwell's body following her death on April 29
A British woman who died while on a hen do in Benidorm had taken no drugs but had binged on alcohol before her death, a toxicology report has confirmed.
A criminal court probing Kirsty Maxwell's death has been told no illegal substances were found in her body after she plunged from a tenth-floor apartment.
But tests showed she had a blood alcohol concentration of 2.79 grams per litre - putting her more than five times over the Spanish drink-drive limit and three-and-a-half times over the limit in England and Wales.
The revelation comes less than a fortnight before a crunch court hearing where four British men placed under formal investigation over Kirsty's April 29 death will be quizzed by a Spanish judge.
Amazon worker Joseph Graham, the fifth man who is facing a court probe and the only one hauled to court so far to give evidence, has not been summonsed to the July 26 hearing.
Kirsty's family lawyer Luis Miguel Zumaquero said today: 'We always knew there was going to be a high blood alcohol level because Kirsty's friends said they had been drinking.
'But that doesn't justify her throwing herself out of an apartment with five men inside.'
Kirsty, pictured with husband Adam, died after falling from a tenth-floor apartment while on a hen do in Benidorm
The toxicology tests were carried out in Barcelona by the Chemicals and Drugs Service of Spain's National Institutute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences.
They were performed between May 16 and June 16 using blood and urine samples sent to the institute by Alicante's Institute of Legal Medicine on May 11.
As well as alcohol, experts tested for a string of drugs ranging from barbiturates through to methadone, amphetamines, cannabis and cocaine.
A report received earlier this week by the Spanish judge leading the criminal court probe into Kirsty's death, which ruled out the presence of drugs, confirmed: 'In the blood and urine samples analysed, none of the toxicological substances of interest investigated were detected.'
But it stated Kirsty's alcohol blood level at 2.79 grams per litre, with a margin of error of 0,20 grams per litre.
It also put the alcohol level in her vitreous humour, a clear gel between the lens and the retina of the eyeball often referenced in post-mortems because it resists longer than other bodily fluids, at 3.01 grams per litre.
The toxicology report is expected to form a key part of the legal argument about whether Kirsty fell or was pushed after mistakenly entering the apartment of the five British men under investigation.
Distraught Adam, who travelled to Benidorm recently with her family, claimed in a newspaper interview in May 'something dark' had happened in the apartment
Joseph Graham, 32, from Nottingham, told police Kirsty was acting as if she was 'mad, drunk or drugged' and headed for the bathroom before trying to get through an indoor window and then disappearing from his view as she headed towards the balcony.
Her family and friends have never hidden the fact she had been drinking after going out with a group of female friends celebrating a hen do - but have always angrily denied any drugs-taking and will be comforted by the report findings.
But Kirsty's alcohol consumption is expected to be seized upon by Joseph Graham's lawyer Roberto Sanchez.
The toxicology report concludes in a final paragraph: 'In general, the effects of ingesting alcohol which leads to concentrations in blood of 1.8 to three grams per litre are disorientation, mental confusion, vertigo; an exaggerated emotional state including fear and anger; alteration of sensations and perception of colour, shape, movement and dimensions; reduction of the feeling of pain; alterations in balance , muscular incoordination, walking and speech problems.'
Mrs Maxwell was staying on the ninth floor of the Apartamentos Payma hotel. This is the room where she was staying directly below the room where she fell. The rooms have a Juliette style balcony with sliding doors, pictured
Mr Sanchez confirmed this afternoon/on Friday afternoon that he was now the lawyer of the other four men who will give evidence in court later this month.
They have been named as Ricky Gammon, 31; Anthony Holehouse, 34; Callum Northridge, 27; and Daniel Bailey, 32.
He insisted today/yesterday (FRI) he was sure all four men were innocent of any wrongdoing.
He added: 'The amount of alcohol in Kirsty's blood was a significant amount and a sufficient amount for a person to become disorientated and for the tragic accident that's taken place here to occur.'
Joseph Graham, pictured, was arrested on suspicion of murder and later released following the balcony plunge
All five British men - who have come to be known as the Benidorm Five - were told they were now under formal investigation in May.
The court decision followed a fight by a lawyer acting for Kirsty's family to have them summonsed to Spain and questioned in court as 'investigados' - a new legal term in Spain which literally means 'under investigation.'
Both court sessions will take place behind closed doors and will not be open to the press or public.
None of the five have been formally accused of any crime as is customary in Spain where charges are only laid shortly before trial.
Kirsty, 27, from Livingston, West Lothian, died instantly after plunging from a tenth-storey apart ment she entered by mistake.
The Scot, who married her grieving husband Adam in September, had been out partying with a group of female friends she had travelled to Spain with for a hen-do.
She went to bed about 4am on April 29 in her ninth-floor apartment.
She woke up shortly before plunging to her death, left her flat dressed but barefoot and was let into the mens' apartment on the floor above after knocking on the door.
Mrs Maxwell (bottom right wearing green jacket) was pictured with a hen party before before leaving the airport for Benidorm in Spain where she fell to her death from a balcony. A lawyer for her family is asking the five men in the apartment to return for questioning
Joseph Graham has insisted he did nothing wrong and only asked her to leave the apartment when he saw what she was doing.
He was allowed to return to the UK after a police and court quiz - whereas his friends were only questioned by police initially as witnesses - but told he would continue to be probed as part of an ongoing judicial investigation.
Police said at the time they believed Kirsty may have mistaken the apartment for a friend's flat - and become disorientated from the effects of her night out boozing.
Kirsty's family lawyer Luis Miguel Zumaq uero said when he demanded all five men be placed under formal investigation in May: 'The authorities here would be in a stronger position to make all five men return to Spain if they were placed under investigation and were not treated as mere witnesses.
'I don't think she was pushed but I do believe she was fleeing from something or somebody.
'We know she was trying to get out of a window because of what happened in the bathroom.
'My suspicion is she didn't end up in the mens' apartment voluntarily and that she came across these well-built males who Joseph has described as active bodybuilders and include a cage fighter as she was heading to her friends' flat.
'My suspicion is that she was locked in the bathroom and was very frightened and may have jumped gripped by fear to avoid a worse fate or to escape someone trying to grab hold of her.
Pictured is the terrifying view from a balcony looking down at where Mrs Maxwell fell to her death. Joseph Graham told Spanish police he believes she jumped from ledge to reach the swimming pool, but misjudged how high up she was
'I believe that makes far more sense than the version we have been given by the men in that room which I believe is unrealistic.
'The only way to show if someone here is lying is to adopt a series of measures which should have been adopted earlier but weren't and which I am asking for now.'
Speaking after learning of the judge's ruling to place all five Brits under investigation, he said: 'We have managed to get a foot in the door and it's now going to be difficult to close that door.
'But it doesn't mean that we have achieved our objective. There's a long road ahead but we've taken an imp ortant first step.
'Kirsty's family know about this decision and they have obviously welcomed it.'
Distraught Adam Maxwell, who travelled to Benidorm recently with her family, claimed in a newspaper interview in May 'something dark' had happened in the apartment.
Blasting suggestions his wife was suicidal, on drugs, or attempting to leap into the pool of the apartment block, he said: 'Something dark happened in that room - and I won't rest until I know the truth.
'Kirsty was happy and healthy and had everything to live for. It's crazy to suggest she killed herself.'
Her relatives are now appealing directly to holidaymakers who they believe may have witnessed the balcony horror, to contact them.Â
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