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Kirsty Maxwell Benidorm balcony death to be probed in new series

A new series expects the five men who last saw Kirsty Maxwell alive to provide answers in a podcast that investigates her mysterious death in Spain.

After a night out on a hen do in 2017, Kirsty, a newlywed, plummeted to her death from a balcony at a hotel in Benidorm.

Before her death, Kirsty, 27, of Livingston, inadvertently entered a 10th-floor flat that was occupied by five British men: Joseph Graham, Ricky Gammon, Anthony Holehouse, Callum Northridge and Daniel Bailey.

In July 2020, they were cleared of being homicide suspects after judges determined that there was no “strong evidence” of criminality and no indication that she had not fallen to her death.

Nevertheless, Kirsty’s mother and father, who are devastated, are adamant that she did not leap of her own volition. The case and an appeal for information are the focus of the six-part podcast, “What happened to Kirsty Maxwell.”

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True Crime podcaster Naomi Channell, who narrates and produces the series, says, “I do not believe it was a tragic accident.” All the evidence suggests that she was fleeing from something.

“There are still numerous unanswered questions.”

“It is my sincere hope that this will exert pressure on the authorities and on those who were present in the flat but have never been adequately investigated.”

Naomi met Kirsty’s family at a UK Crimecon convention in 2023, where she was present with Sue Horan, the wife of Stuart Lubbock, who passed away under suspicious circumstances at the residence of television personality Michael Barrymore in 2001.

In her podcast, she recounts how upon Kirsty’s arrival at the apartments with her friends, “a shirtless man” approached them at the elevators and enquired, “Who wants to get f*** tonight?”

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Kirsty returned to the apartments early in the morning after a night out, during which she consumed alcohol but did not have any narcotics in her system.

It is unclear why she awoke, proceeded to the 10th floor, and knocked on the door of room 10E. The room was shared by five men, including the shirtless man, who were all from the Nottingham area.

One of them informed the authorities. Before jumping over the Juliette balcony to her demise, Kirsty attempted to climb through a small window in the bathroom and then ran through the apartment window.

Naomi stated, “Kirsty died instantly after falling at 7.51 a.m.” One of the men reported to the police that he had observed her fall. This individual was the sleeveless man, and his name is Joseph Graham.

Adam, Kirsty’s spouse, received a call from the Spanish police informing him that she had passed away. He was compelled to inform her mother, Denise, of the tragic news. The couple had married only eight months prior.

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Brian Curry, her father, expressed his disbelief, stating, “Even to this day, it is extremely difficult to accept.”

The podcast delves into the process by which Kirsty’s family travelled to Benidorm to initiate their own investigation three months after her death, as they encountered a “wall of silence” from the police.

Naomi, a podcaster from Essex, stated, “No parent should ever be required to investigate the death of their own child.”

“Brian requested 12 hours of footage that encompassed the period prior to and following Kirsty’s death; however, the police provided him with only seven minutes of edited footage.

Kirsty’s fall is not depicted in a traumatic three-second footage captured by a camera at the poolside, which captures her impact with the ground. Brian is of the opinion that the footage was edited by an individual.

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“According to investigators, the remaining CCTV footage has disappeared.” The police were compelled to acknowledge that they had disposed of the garments the day following Kirsty’s death. Her attire would have served as indispensable evidence.

“They claimed that the reason was that the clothing was stained with blood.” They acknowledged that the only method of examination was visual.

David Swindle, the retired Strathclyde detective who established Victims Abroad, was astounded by the deficiencies of the investigation.

He stated that the Spanish Police failed to conduct thorough investigations into the evidence, including independent witnesses, and did not advance forensics or CCTV footage.

“These men were not separated and were not interviewed properly.” DNA issues were encountered, samples were not collected, and Kirsty’s clothing was incinerated.

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“Throughout my tenure as an investigator, I was unable to comprehend it.” “If we had all of that, we would be better equipped to understand what transpired with Kirsty.”

The podcast, which will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon on April 29, commemorates the eight-year anniversary of Kirsty’s passing.


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27 members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang arrested in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Tarragona, and Guardamar

In Guardamar del Segura, Madrid, Barcelona, and Tarragona, the National Police have apprehended 27 putative members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang. The Salvadoran criminal organisation intends to broaden its influence in Spain through violent means. The individuals apprehended were members of numerous cliques or factions that were organised under the leadership of the “Adams Clique” and were supervised by the Americas. The U.S. has classified this Latin American gang as a terrorist organisation. Drug trafficking sustained the gang, and the police have linked some of the arrested individuals to attempted and completed homicides.

The province of Alicante has apprehended a single individual, while Madrid, Barcelona, and Tarragona have each seen 18 arrests. The police have accused them of homicide, bodily harm, robbery with violence, and offences against public health, as well as belonging to a criminal organisation.

This is the Mara Salvatrucha gang’s second significant setback in Spain. The 37 defendants from the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which was based in Ibi, Girona, Madrid, and Barcelona, were sentenced to a total of 89 years and six months in prison by the Alicante Court in 2018.

The investigation commenced with the detection of individuals associated with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang in Spain by agents from the National Police’s General Information Commissariat, which was made possible by international collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In collaboration with the National Civil Police of El Salvador and the aforementioned US law enforcement agencies, the police were able to identify all members of this organisation, which is predominantly located in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

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Copyright: National Police

Drug Financing Investigators have determined that this criminal organisation maintained a hierarchical structure with clearly defined roles. The primary source of funding for this MS13 “program” that was dismantled by the police was narcotic trafficking, and its objective was to acquire firearms. Previous investigations have implicated its members in attempted assassinations and completed homicides.

The exploitation phase commenced on March 27, following the identification of the members of this group. Consequently, authorities apprehended 27 individuals and searched six residences.

The General Intelligence Commission, the Provincial Intelligence Brigades of Barcelona, Alicante, Tarragona, and Madrid, the FBI, representatives of the National Civil Police of El Salvador, and the Barcelona Urban Guard were all involved in the operation, which was overseen by the Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organised Crime and led by Madrid’s Investigative Court No. 3.

During the searches, the officers confiscated symbols, knives, simulated firearms, narcotics, items for sale, and mobile phones.

They convened a court to hear the detainees. Seven of them were incarcerated, while two others were still in custody. They were arrested in distinct penitentiaries and held in pretrial detention for actions related to the organisation’s activities. The Torrevieja duty court heard the case of the individual apprehended in Guardamar, who did not reside in the municipality.

The U.S. State Department declared Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) a foreign terrorist organisation in February of last year, taking the same course of action as El Salvador in August 2015.

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Brit arrested after a 10-kilometre police chase on the wrong side of the road

Guardia Civil

A police chase in Alcoy, Alicante, was anticipated with both exhilaration and fear. The A7 was the scene of a 10-kilometre pursuit in the incorrect direction, resulting in the arrest of a 49-year-old English man. The motorist was ultimately apprehended after colliding with numerous parked vehicles on Avenida Hispanidad in Alcoy, resulting in no injuries.

The Guardia Civil received a call from 112 at 6 p.m. regarding a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction on the A7, with the destination being Valencia. This initiated the incident. The driver proceeded on the N-340 towards Alcoy after exiting the road at kilometre 432, while being pursued by numerous police patrols. The driver caused significant alarm by travelling in the wrong direction on several streets in Alcoy during the chase.

As soon as the individual arrived at Avenida Hispanidad, he assaulted a police officer who was attempting to stop him. The police eventually intercepted the vehicle after it caused substantial damage to at least a dozen parked cars. Fortunately, there were no fatalities; only property damage was reported.

After testing positive for narcotics, police arrested the detainee for reckless driving and assaulting a police officer. The Accident Investigation Team of the Benidorm Traffic Police assumed responsibility for the matter. Raül Llopis, the Security Councillor of Alcoy, underscored that, despite the gravity of the situation, no injuries were reported. However, authorities will continue to investigate potential damage on other streets where the vehicle may have been operating during the incident.

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Drunk driver who killed two sentenced to five years in prison

Elche Courts JUZGADOS DE ELCHE 01

The driver of a vehicle has been sentenced to five years in prison by the Seventh Section of the Provincial Court of Alicante, which is located in Elche. The incident occurred in the town of Cox, which is located in the Vega Baja region. The accident resulted in the deaths of two individuals and the injury of three others.

He was found guilty of two counts of negligent homicide and three counts of reckless injury, as well as a traffic safety offence involving driving under the influence of alcohol, in accordance with the sentence that was imposed after the parties reached a plea agreement.

The convicted driver is also subject to a seven-and-a-half-year ban. However, the injured parties are not compensated, as none of them submitted a claim and instead reached an out-of-court settlement with the defendant’s insurance company.

The incident transpired on the evening of October 24th, 2020. It happened on the N-340. The vehicle of the individual who has since been convicted entered the opposing lane and collided with a quad bike that was transporting the two victims.

The All Terrain Vehicle was ejected from the road as a result of this frontal impact, and it subsequently collided with another vehicle that was being driven by a couple with two children. Everyone sustained various injuries in the collision.

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