Kirsty Maxwell: 'Fresh hope' for balcony fall woman's family

The family of a Scottish woman who fell from a 10th-floor balcony in Spain have spoken of their fresh hope of finding out what led to her death.

Kirsty Maxwell, 27, died shortly after entering a Benidorm apartment which was occupied by five men from Nottingham.

Spanish police believe Mrs Maxwell, from Livingston, jumped from the balcony after a night out with friends.

Her family say expert evidence shows that, in fact, she scaled the barrier then clung to it but lost her grip.

Now that evidence from biomechanics expert Mike Brown is to be viewed by a Spanish judge looking into the case.

Meanwhile, one of the UK's most experienced forensic scientists has agreed to review the circumstances of Mrs Maxwell's death.

Mrs Maxwell's father Brian Curry told BBC Scotland's The Nine programme he wants "justice for Kirsty", adding: "We've got people on board and the team is getting bigger.

"We've got velocity fall experts, forensics experts, because we need every piece of back-up to take it to the judge."

Mrs Maxwell fell to her death in the early hours of 29 April 2017.

She had flown out to the Spanish resort with a group of friends for a hen party the day before.

Her family have said they want "answers" from the men in the apartment, who have denied any responsibility for Mrs Maxwell's death.

One of the men, Joseph Graham, was arrested on suspicion of homicide but later released without charge.

He issued a statement saying he was innocent of any wrongdoing and described Mrs Maxwell's death as a "tragic accident".

The other four men in the apartment were also questioned in court as part of the inquiry three months later.

They returned to Spain voluntarily and exercised their legal right to answer only questions put by their lawyer.

Biomechanics expert Mr Brown's opinion that Mrs Maxwell did not jump was first highlighted in the BBC Scotland documentary Killed Abroad.

Now he has been joined on the family's team by forensic scientist Prof Jim Fraser, who worked on the investigation into the serial killer Robert Black and the murders of Damilola Taylor and Rachel Nickell.

The family's Spanish lawyer Lorena Soler Bernabeu has also flown to Scotland to meet them and assure them that the investigation in Benidorm is ongoing.

'It's still frustrating'
Mr Curry said: "We're coming up for two years this April and we never thought we would be here. We thought this would be done and dusted.

"We were obviously very naive about that and how judicial wheels turn.

"Even now, we know we've got a lot of things we want to progress with and we realise we can't do this all at once. It's still frustrating but we know this can't be sorted overnight."

He added: "We know we've got a goal and the goal is to find out some truth and answers.

"We've always been positive that we're doing the right thing. As long as we are here, we'll keep pushing on.

"This is a big fight. We're not under any illusions that it's going to be easy - we never have been. But it is a fight that we will go on with."

Kirsty Maxwell was a 27-year-old woman from Livingston, West Lothian.

She married her husband Adam in September 2016, having known him for 10 years. They were in the process of buying a new home and had planned to start a family.

Her younger brother, Ryan Curry, said: "She was at the happiest point in her life."

Mrs Maxwell went to Benidorm in Spain for a hen do with a group of friends on 28 April 2017.

The women were staying at My Pretty Payma Apartments, also known as Apartmentos Payma.

They went out for food and drinks on their first night away, and Mrs Maxwell and two friends returned to the apartments in the early hours of 29 April. They were pictured on CCTV waiting for lifts at 05:35.

Mrs Maxwell went to sleep and one of her friends filmed her snoring in their apartment on the ninth floor at 06:50.

An hour later, at 07:51, Mrs Maxwell fell to her death from the balcony of apartment 10E, on the tenth floor, which was occupied by five men from Nottingham.

Mrs Maxwell's family have confirmed that she had no history of sleepwalking. They want to know how she ended up in the room, and what happened in the room.