19-year-old Murron McDermid, was ‘severely intoxicated’ when she fell to death after a night out with her boyfriend in Gloucester city

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A man heard his girlfriend scream as she fell to her death from a multi-storey car park in a tragic accident, an inquest heard.

Street artist Murron McDermid, 19, was ‘severely intoxicated’ after a night out with her boyfriend and friends at the Cafe Rene pub in Gloucester city centre, the inquest heard.

Murron was rushed to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on August 12, but she was pronounced dead shortly after.

Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, read a statement from Lewis Tams who managed to get hold of Murron on the phone at around 2.20am.

Mr Tams, who had been in a relationship with her for about a month, said Murron returned early from a holiday with her family on August 11 and he went to pick her up from the train station at 8:30pm after he finished work.

They walked to Cafe Rene and Mr Tams said Murron was drinking all the way.

At around 11:30pm they left Cafe Rene to drop some bags off at Mr Tams’ home and returned to Cafe Rene at about 12:30pm, he stated.

Shortly after their return, friends observed Murron fall off a bench in the street outside.

She was refused entry back into the pub and although friends tried to persuade her to sit down to sober up she refused and left at around 2:15am.

Mr Tams said they thought they would catch up with her but when they went out she was nowhere to be seen.

He rang Murron but she wouldn’t tell him where she was, he said.

Murron told Lewis she loved him and that she was about to put the phone down and at that point Lewis heard her scream and seagulls in the background, reports Gloucestershire Live .

He went looking for Murron while ringing her phone.

He went up the alleyway at the side of the Prezzo restaurant in Southgate street and heard her phone ringing so ran towards the sound and found her lying on the ground at the foot of the nine storey high Longsmith street car park.

Emergency services were called and Murron was taken to hospital but was pronounced deceased shortly after.

CCTV footage showed Murron, who used to go to the top of car parks around Gloucester to take pictures with a friend, staggering around the city streets after leaving the bar at 2.13am.

Minutes later she was seen falling to the ground before she got up and went to the car park.

There was no-one around and police ruled out foul play.

Murron’s friend, Annie Chaplain said in a statement read out in court that the two of them would talk about death including falling from height but Murron had always said it ‘wasn’t an option for her. ‘

They had also visited the tops of car parks to take photos.

Before passing on her sincere condolences to the family, Senior Coroner Katy Skerrett said it was clear from the evidence presented that Murron was ‘highly intoxicated’.

She said that although Murron had suffered from previous mental health problems she had been engaging with friends well that day.

She was showing ‘forward thinking’ in her diary and there was no evidence of low mood that evening.

Therefore Mrs Skerrett said the barrier of proof for suicide had not been reached and this was an alcohol related accident.

The coroner said: “These are very high levels of alcohol in her system and it would be impairing her at the time,” Mrs Skerrett added.

“It’s a very tragic accident of a young lady who had so much to look forward to in her life.

“She was an experienced drinker but still had high levels of alcohol in her blood and that would have severely impaired her.

“She goes to the top floor of the car park, phones her partner, not with suicidal ideation but making loving statements.

“Alcohol was a huge factor and you can envisage how when heavily intoxicated a tragic accident would follow.”

Mrs Skerrett recorded a conclusion of alcohol related accidental death.

Source: Mirror

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