Coroner rebuts claim alcohol led to fatal fall

A woman who died after falling 20ft (6m) from a hotel staircase in Thailand was not intoxicated despite claims by the authorities, a coroner has ruled.

Thai police had claimed Kerry Bruce, from Doncaster, was drunk when she fell through a gap concealed by foliage at the Kalima Resort and Spa in Phuket.

The 58-year-old, who had travelled to Thailand on a "dream holiday", suffered a bleed on the brain and was pronounced dead at the Patong Hospital on 4 June.

Assistant Coroner Sarah Middleton told Doncaster Coroner's Court: "I think assumptions are being made by the Thai authorities [about her levels of intoxication]… the police officers did not see Kerry, so I don't see how they have come to that conclusion."

She said the presence of the concealed drop beside the stone staircase had "amazed" her, adding: "To not have barriers there is very concerning."

Bruce's partner of three years, Stuart Raynor, said: "The police seemed to suggest she was drunk, but I can confirm she was not."

He told the coroner: "I've been a licensee for 25 years, I know when somebody's intoxicated. I think it's a cover-up for a health and safety issue."

Middleton said she accepted his evidence, adding: "You knew her best, you'd been with her that night and you saw her."

Bruce, who the inquest was told was generally fit and in good health, had had three small glasses of wine while dining with friends on the evening of 3 June.

She and Raynor had separated when they got back to the hotel as she wanted to take the lift, which could have set off his vertigo, the inquest heard.

After reaching the hotel room and finding it empty, Raynor went back downstairs and found Bruce had fallen.

She had sustained severe head injuries, including a breed on the brain, as well as a broken rib and collapsed lung, the autopsy found.

"If Kerry was in such a state of intoxication, I have no doubt Mr Raynor would not have left her," Middleton said.

She recorded the death as an accident and accepted the medical cause of death as a brain haemorrhage and skull fracture, which were caused by a fall.

Speaking after the inquest, Raynor said he felt his partner's "name had been cleared" by the coroner accepting his evidence.

He said the trip had been their "dream holiday", describing Bruce as "a fun-loving character, who would light up any room".

He said he had gone back to the hotel later in the year and found railings had been installed along the side of the staircase, which he said was "closing the stable door after the horse has bolted".

Bruce's sister, Mandy Moore, said she was "free spirited" and "loved helping people, helping her neighbours".

"I miss her so much," she said.

Bruce had previously managed The Emporium in Doncaster, lived in Germany for four years while working in a sewing factory, moved to Wiltshire and returned to Doncaster in 1997.

The BBC has approached the Royal Thai Police and Kalima Resort and Spa for comment.

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