Tragedy of ‘so happy’ Special who fell to her death

Friends of Samantha Pape, who was 19, said they had never seen her so happy after she had been taken on by West Yorkshire Police as a Special Constable.

Although she had been treated for depression in the past, her family said that was some years ago, she had fully recovered and they were sure her death was the result of an accident.

Miss Pape, who also worked as a receptionist and security officer at a Leeds hotel, had ambitions to become a regular police officer and hoped that becoming a Special would be a springboard to a career in the force.

An inquest in Wakefield heard Miss Pape died in the early hours after a night out in Leeds city centre in October last year. She died at the scene, of multiple injuries.

She had been out with her girlfriend, Leanne Covey, 32, and had consumed a large amount of alcohol.

Tests following her death showed that she would have been two-and-a-half times over the limit for driving.

The inquest heard that the pair got a taxi back to Miss Covey’s flat on the seventh floor of Norman Towers, off Spen Lane in West Park, Leeds, in the early hours of October 15.

Miss Covey left the room for a few minutes before returning to find her friend had disappeared. She was too frightened to step onto the balcony and look below, she said.

In a 999 call, a hysterical Miss Covey told the operator that “she’s just chucked herself off”, “she’s had a lot on in her life” and had said she was “going to do it”.

Miss Covey said that Miss Pape had opened the door to the balcony and said she had “had enough”.

“I didn’t think she would,” Miss Covey told the operator.

Yesterday Miss Covey told the inquest that she had never actually heard Miss Pape speak about doing “something like that”. She told the hearing that she could not remember what she had meant by her comments to the operator and had not witnessed Miss Pape opening the balcony door.

Miss Covey said they had enjoyed the night out and had had no arguments.

The inquest heard Miss Pape, of Holt Farm Close, Leeds was a private person and had not told people about her relationship with Miss Covey as she believed they wouldn’t understand.

Detective Constable Richard Tyler said that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.

The inquest was told that Miss Pape had, in the past, sat on the railings of a relative’s balcony and had laughed when told to get down for her own safety.

Deputy coroner Mary Burke said that it was possible Miss Pape had overbalanced while attempting to sit on the railings of the balcony but “despite extensive inquiries we will never be sure”.

In a brief narrative verdict, the coroner recorded that Miss Pape had been found beneath the balcony in circumstances not considered suspicious.

In a statement after the hearing, Miss Pape’s family said: “Sam was a wonderful person with a vibrant, loving personality and an infectious smile. She had everything to live for and a bright future ahead of her.

“She had recently passed out as a Special Constable with West Yorkshire Police and was hoping to become a regular officer in the future. This has been a very difficult time her family and we are devastated by her untimely death.”