Mystery over newlywed bride's balcony fall: 'Something dark happened in that room'

By Marnie O'Neill

The men involved in the investigation after a newlywed bride plunged to her death off a balcony in Spain have broken their silence about the "tragic accident".

A statement released on behalf of four of the men said they "categorically deny any involvement in the unfortunate incident."

"It goes without saying that our deepest sympathy goes out to Kirsty's family and our thoughts are with them all at this terrible time."

They also said they have had "our names dragged through the mud" during reporting on the issue and "the opinion of the judge is that this was an accident."

Callum Northridge, 29, Ricky Gammon, 31, Anthony Holehouse, 34 and Daniel Bailey, 32, all appeared at a court in Spain on Wednesday. Another man Joseph Graham, had already given a statement to police about the night the young bride fell to her death from the balcony.

Adam and Kirsty Maxwell on their wedding day last September. Photo: Facebook

Meanwhile, her grieving husband and family made a desperate appeal for witnesses to come forward.

Kirsty Maxwell, 27, died after falling from the balcony of a room rented by a group of men she had never met on the morning of April 29 this year in Spain.

Ms Maxwell was staying on another floor of the Apartments Payma at Benidorm with around 20 girlfriends when she wandered into the men's room at about 8am following a night of partying.

The occupants - dubbed the "Benidorm Five" in the British tabloids - have strenuously denied any role in Ms Maxwell's bizarre death.

But heartbroken husband Adam Maxwell, who married his longtime sweetheart in their native Scotland last September, is convinced her death was no accident and has dismissed suggestions his wife was suicidal or "on drugs".

"Something dark happened in that room and I won't rest until I know the truth," he said.
"Kirsty was happy, healthy and had everything to live for. It is crazy to suggest she killed herself."

Four of the men, champion cagefighter Ricky Gammon, 31, convicted fraudster Anthony Holehouse, 34, Callum Northridge, 27, and Daniel Bailey, 32, fronted a closed hearing yesterday after Ms Maxwell's family asked Spanish judge Ana Isabel Garcia-Galbis to summon them back for questioning.

They were grilled by the judge and their own lawyer but refused to respond to questions from the Maxwell family's legal representative, according to the Daily Record.

A fifth man, 32-year-old Amazon executive Joseph Graham, was excused from the hearing having already given a detailed statement to police and Judge Garcia-Galbis at an earlier date.

Maxwell family lawyer Luis Miguel Zumaquero has told the court he believes the young woman feared she was about to be sexually assaulted by the men and jumped from the balcony "while gripped by fear".

Mr Maxwell is said to be unhappy with the investigation carried out by Spanish police, who suspect his wife toppled from the balcony after drinking too much alcohol.

Toxicology tests showed that she had a blood-alcohol level of 2.79 grams per litre - about five times the Spanish drink-drive limit.

But Mr Maxwell believes the men know more about his wife's final moments than they are letting on and has appealed for witnesses, particularly anyone who was in another high-rise directly opposite the Apartments Payma.

He returned to Benidorm last month to distribute posters and flyers calling for anyone who may have seen his wife's death to contact the family via a confidential email posted on the Kirsty Maxwell Information Appeal Facebook page.

'MAD, DRUNK OR ON DRUGS'

Witnesses told police Ms Maxwell had been drinking with 20 friends at a hen's party the night before her death and returned to her room on the 9th floor of the building at around 4am.

She was photographed by a friend lying fully-clothed on her bed but at around 8am she woke up and walked up a flight of stairs to the apartment directly above.

It is thought she was trying to get to the room of a girlfriend who was staying on the 10th floor when she became disorientated and knocked on the wrong door.

Joseph Graham, one of the five men staying in the apartment from which Ms Maxwell fell, told police he thought she was "mad, drunk or drugged" when she walked past him into the flat without speaking, according to his police statement.

Documents tendered to court state Mr Graham claimed he told Ms Maxwell to leave but she ignored him. He said she then tried to climb out of a bathroom window before crossing the living room to the sliding door of the balcony.

He told police he then saw Ms Maxwell go over the side and heard her scream as she plummeted to her death. The other men rushed to the window and called police and emergency services, he said.

Mr Graham said he thought Ms Maxwell may have been trying to jump into the swimming pool at the foot of the building and denied he or his four mates did anything to cause her fall, the MailOnline reported.

A hotel CCTV camera captured Maxwell hitting the concrete floor near the pool, but so far no other witnesses have come forward to shed any light on her death.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Mr Graham spent two days in police custody on suspicion of homicide but was released without charge after agreeing he would return to Spain if required.

None of his four friends have been charged either.

'SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS'

Mr Maxwell disputes the men's accounts and particularly Mr Graham's assertion that his wife was "mad, drunk or on drugs" because it was not the sort of behaviour he had ever seen his wife display.

"The men in the room suggested she was high on drugs, but I've been with her nine years and know she hated drugs. She didn't even smoke," he told MailOnline in May.

"Only these five men know the answer and I'm amazed that they have been allowed to fly home to the UK after giving contradictory statements."

The widower shared his frustration in an emotional message on Ms Maxwell's crowd-funding page, which has raised more than AUD 50,000 to fly her body home, pay for her funeral and fund a private investigation into her death.

"Words cannot describe how Kirsty's husband Adam, her mum Denise, dad Brian, brother Ryan and the rest of her family and friends are feeling," he wrote.

"Their grief is aggravated by the fact there are so many unanswered questions about what happened to Kirsty and the knowledge that people out there hold vital information which can assist the family's search for the truth.

"Something happened in those apartments which resulted in Kirsty's death and someone knows the answers."

Posters distributed by the family in Benidorm asks people who stayed in or around the apartments in Avenida de Almeria 5 in the popular Rincon de Loix area between April 27 and April 30 to search their memories.

"Did you take any photos or videos that night?" the posters say.

"Do you remember Kirsty and her friends who were all wearing pink shirts? Do you know anything about groups of men who were staying at the Payma Apartments, Benidorm?"

• Anyone with information can share it anonymously on the Kirsty Maxwell Information Appeal Facebook page or by emailing info@kirstymaxell.com.