The family of Emma Atkinson, 38, from Leeds, said she tragically died in a freak accident and explained that she fell by mistake when she was leaning out of a window having a cigarette
A pregnant mum-of-four who plummeted 90ft to her death from a tower block is said to have accidentally fallen from a window.
Emma Atkinson, 38, was pronounced dead following the horror fall at Shakespeare Towers, Burmantofts, Leeds, on Tuesday morning. Her baby was miraculously delivered safely in hospital and is a “little fighter”.
According to her loved ones, she was visiting her father at his flat when she leaned out of the window to smoke a cigarette. She is said to have tragically plunged from the window. Her family say investigators are looking into whether she opened the lounge window fully and leaned too far, with her father being unable to stop the fall.
It comes after rumours emerged online that the mum could have been depressed and decided to take her own life. But her friends disputed the speculation and said she was excited to become a mum again. And just days earlier, she was told she would become a grandmother for the first time as her daughter Demi, 17, was expecting.
Her daughter, now named Posie, is currently recovering in hospital with a fractured leg. Emma’s aunt and uncle, Ken and Rita Hanlan, opened up about the tragedy. Mr Hanlan told MailOnline: “The flat she was in when she fell was her father’s and we have been told it was an accident. Her father said she opened the window to have a smoke and fell out. He insists it was an accident.”
Ms Hanlan, 75, offered an update on Posie and said her condition is improving. She told the publication: “Little Posie is feeding now, she is taking milk, which has been a great relief. She had an internal bleed but that is clearing now. She has a fracture to her leg and they are going to splint that sometime next week. She is the one good thing that has come out of this tragedy. She is such a little fighter, she was only 4lbs when she was delivered but she’s doing well, which is amazing.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire police earlier said: “At 10.24am today, police were contacted by the ambulance service who had been called to an incident where a woman had fallen from height. The woman died at the scene as result of her injuries.
“There were no suspicious circumstances and the Coroner’s Office has been informed. The woman, aged in her thirties, was in the late stage of pregnancy and her baby was delivered at hospital after the incident and is receiving critical care.”
