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Friends demand investigation after British woman falls 31 floors to her death in Thailand

Maxine Missick fell from the window of her room in the southern city of Hat Yai in death that police say was an accident or suicide

Jeff Farrell
Tuesday 29 August 2017 13:49 BST
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Friends of Ms Missick say she was “full of life” and dismissed theory she would have killed herself
Friends of Ms Missick say she was “full of life” and dismissed theory she would have killed herself (Maxine Missick/Facebook)

Friends of a British student who died in Thailand after she fell 31 floors from a window in her hotel room have demanded a further investigation into the death of the “adventurous” woman.

Maxine Missick, 23, had travelled to the southern city of Hat Yai, one hour from the Malay border, when she checked into accommodation.

A passing motorcyclist found her body in an alley behind the building after hearing it hit the ground with a loud thud in the early hours of the morning.

She was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering injuries including a broken neck and other broken bones, police said.

They ruled out foul play and said Ms Missick plunged to her death, just three days before she was due to fly back to the UK, because of an accident or suicide.

But her friends describing her as being “full of life” and said there was “no way” she could have killed herself.

Ms Missick checked into the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Hat Yai last Monday before she plunged to her death just before 6am on Friday morning.

Her friends today paid tribute to the young woman, who was studying at Keele University in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, and doubted she would have killed herself.

Close university friend Tom Kayzee, who was one of the last people to speak with Ms Missick, said: ''The last time I chatted with her was 24th August - she was okay and she loved it there.

''I just wanted to know that she was okay and the news reported that the possibilities of her committed suicide is wrong.

''[The Maxine] that we know of is a lovely and cheerful girl who always smiled. Always adventurous, beautiful soul and well mannered.''

Romeo Simpson said: ''I don't believe it [is] suicide they need to do more investigation.''

Jenniflor Louis added: ''I still don't want to believe it was suicide, even though they have no evidence of foul play an investigation of the situation and room needs to be done.''

Ms Missick, who was originally from the British overseas territories of Turks and Caicos near the Bahamas, had studied Biomedical Sciences in the UK before taking an internship in Penang, Malaysia.

She is believed to have travelled for a holiday to Hat Yai, the nearest Thai tourist resort an hour's drive from the Malay border checkpoint, before she was due to fly home.

Inspector General Sornpet Tantiamonchaikul from the Hat Yai Police Department said officers were still waiting for the results of a post mortem examination before ruling on the official cause of death.

He said: '''In the room there was no damage or signs of violence. There are no suspicions or investigations into foul play or another person being involved.

''A window was open. We believe she either committed suicide by jumping or she fell accidentally.''

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