Chef falls to his death

David Evans-Turner. Photo / Supplied

A daredevil attempt to shimmy down the outside of a high-rise building to retrieve a set of keys from a locked apartment proved fatal for an Auckland chef.

David Goddard Evans-Turner died after falling an estimated 25m from the balcony of his central Auckland apartment last month.

The coroner is investigating and was unable to release any details yesterday, but the Herald on Sunday has been told Evans-Turner was trying to get into his Greys Ave flat, having locked his keys inside.

Originally from Port Chalmers, Otago, he was estranged from his immediate family.

But his younger brother, Peter, learned that Evans-Turner had apparently locked himself out, gone to an apartment one floor up and attempted to climb down to the balcony below. Peter also believed the risky manoeuvre was something his brother had successfully performed at least once before.

A spokesman for the St John Ambulance northern communications centre confirmed officers were called to the building about 4.50pm on February 2 after a man fell from the building and died at the scene. The day after would have been Evans-Turner's 51st birthday.

Yesterday flowers and a "Happy Valentine's Day" balloon lay on the ground below his apartment's balcony.

His distraught partner, Rose, declined to speak yesterday, but in his death notice she told of "Darvo", a man who always put family first.

"Sshh now Darvo everything is how it is and we both know what that means darling." She told of how hard it was letting him go from her sight.

"You know my heart and I know yours, together we made a bond that will carry me through life and encourage me to keep my head up, my back straight and my heart true."

The lengthy notice spoke of how, no matter what, his only concern was making sure his loved ones were fed and happy.

"According to Darvo, the world revolved around his two grandsons, Lorenz and Tyson."

She said her daughter loved him very much, and "her heart is breaking into a million bits".

"We will never be the same but because we had our Darvo we will always be a strong, tight-knit family who will never forget the golden rules - to love and respect each other and to always remember that you have to put effort in to get what you want out of life."

She said he was a "Guilds trained master chef" of 35 years' experience, an arms specialist, and loved literature and music.