March 25, 1982
The father of dead nurse Helen Smith walked out of a High Court hearing in London on Thursday March 25, calling the proceedings a "farce." Ron Smith, an ex-police officer, has been calling for an inquest into his daughter Helen’s death. She was found at the foot of a block of flats in Saudi Arabia on May 20, 1979. Mr. Smith believes that the 23-year-old nurse was murdered and her body placed to look as if she had fallen to her death. The original, official statement also suggested that Helen had been making love to a Dutchman on the balcony during a party at the flat of fellow Briton Richard Arnot. The autopsy report he ordered after inspecting her body in Jeddah was retained by Foreign office despite 55-year-old Mr. Smith’s requests for a copy. And when it was finally issued, a vital page was missing. That has recently been released. The High Court hearing is to decide if West Yorkshire coroner Philip Gill is correct in refusing to hold an inquest on the grounds that Helen’s death occurred outside his jurisdiction. A Home Office pathologist, Michael Green has already said that Helen’s injuries included a series of blows to the head and face. Two other pathologists – one Danish, one British – have concluded, after carrying out their own post mortems, that the girl could not have fallen in the alleged manner. In the High Court, Lord Justice Ormrod and Mr. Justice Forbes reserved judgement because of the "complexities" of the case.
PICTURED: Mr. Ron Smith, fighting for an inquest into his daughter’s death.
[True Crime Confidential commentary: Before there was Natalee Holloway, there was Helen Smith]
