Mother jumped to her death in front of children

A YOUNG mother jumped to her death in front of her two children and brother after he made harsh comments about her heavy drinking.

Mother-of-two Esmerelda Wilson, 24, of Doncaster, was staying in a five-star hotel in Greece when the tragedy happened in May this year.

An inquest into her death heard that her brother, Albert Hazelhurst, and her two children were present at around 11pm when she stepped over the balcony and let go, falling three floors and sustaining fatal injuries.

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Mr Hazelhurst said he had told his sister she would end up dying by the time she was 25 because of her excessive drinking.

He admitted using harsh words and saying she might as well jump from the balcony, not realising what would happen next.

Mrs Wilson, who was around five times over the drink drive limit after drinking wine all day, put one leg over the balcony and said, "Goodbye, I will see you later" before her brother could stop her.

Mr Hazelhurst told the inquest in Wakefield: "I was on the bed, I should really have got up. It seemed to be very quick. I should have got up. I didn't think she would do it."

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West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff asked if the children had been present.

"Yes, they could see what as going on," he replied.

Mr Hinchliff said it was clear that Mr Hazelhurst's comments about her jumping were made in a "flippant" way as he attempted to employ "shock tactics" while talking about her excessive drinking.

Mr Hazelhurst said his sister did not seem very drunk.

"She seemed to be OK, her movements seemed OK. I thought she would be wobbling, she seemed to be functioning OK. She didn't look that drunk to me. She was used to drinking."

Mr Hazelhurst said his sister could have taken the decision to return from her position on the balcony.

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"I don't blame myself, to be honest. Basically, when her leg was over the balcony she could have jumped or she could have come back."

He told the court that his sister had been going through emotional turmoil for two or three years and that drinking made matters worse for her.

She was married but was separated from her husband and was going through a divorce.

Mr Hazelhurst said: "That day was a very bad day. She was going through a lot for two to three years. She had a lot of alcohol and was very depressed and low. She had a drinking problem which was probably making her depressed, making her worse."

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Mr Hazelhurst said he regretted what he had said to his sister that day.

"Really, I should not have said what I said. It was a mess."

In a statement, her father Albert Hazelhurst said that his daughter had a drink problem and was depressed but she had not talked about taking her own life.

Mrs Wilson, of Cardigan Road, Intake, Doncaster, suffered multiple injuries in the fall.

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She as taken to a local Greek hospital but died the following day.

A post mortem examination showed that she died from multiple injuries.

Toxicology tests showed that she had drunk enough alcohol that day to put herself at least five times over the British limit for driving.

The post mortem showed that her liver showed signs of prolonged abuse of alcohol.

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Mr Hinchliff, recording an open verdict, said there was an element of doubt about whether Mrs Wilson intended to take her own life because at the time of the fall her judgment was clouded.

He said people did silly things when drunk and she may not have appreciated how high up she was.

david Hinchliff: Element of doubt about whether Esmerelda Wilson intended to kill herself.