Funeral for 1979 Saudi fall nurse

A Leeds nurse whose body has lain in a mortuary for 30 years after she died in mysterious circumstances is finally to receive a funeral service. Helen Smith, who died aged 23 after falling from a balcony at a party in Saudi Arabia in 1979, will be cremated in Wakefield on 9 November.

Her father Ron has until now refused to allow a funeral - until he could prove his theory that she was murdered. It is thought to be the longest time a body has remained unburied in Britain.

Since her death, Miss Smith's remains have been stored in the mortuary in Leeds General Infirmary. Mr Smith said he had finally decided to agree to his daughter's funeral after receiving a letter from his ex-wife.



He said that she had written to him to say she felt that as she and Mr Smith were in their latter years, they should organise the funeral while they were both still alive. A service will take place at Wakefield Crematorium in Crigglestone followed by a private ceremony to scatter her ashes on 11 November at the Cow and Calf Rocks, Ilkley.

Miss Smith died on 20 May 1979 after she and a Dutch man apparently fell 70ft from a balcony flat in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Investigations by Saudi police concluded Miss Smith and Dutch sea captain Johannes Otten had died after falling while having sex, but former policeman Mr Smith has refused to accept the findings.

He has alleged the real truth surrounding his daughter's death has been covered up by the British establishment at the highest level. An inquest jury in Leeds returned an open verdict in 1982.

With news video.