Mystery of Bruce Gordon's balcony death fall

Published: 9 April 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

AN inquest has been unable to shed light on the mysterious death of a construction worker who fell from the balcony of his Highbury flat.

Bruce Gordon, 35, died after falling from the second floor of Twyford House, in Elwood Street, just before 1.30am on December 9.

Neighbours called police after seeing his lifeless body lying beneath the balcony of the flat where he was lodging, directly outside the estate’s tenant management office.

The death sparked an investigation by the police’s homicide and serious crime division, which began door-to-door inquiries after it emerged that CCTV cameras installed on the estate in 2006 were faulty.

At a St Pancras inquest on Tuesday, coroner Dr Andrew Reid attempted to piece together the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. Mr Gordon, a father-of-two, was originally from Sussex but had been living in the flat for some months and was a familiar face around the estate.

The inquest heard he had spent the evening of December 9 drinking in the Myddleton Arms, in Canonbury, with a friend, Leanne Jeffery, who was working behind the bar. 

The pair, who had been drinking heavily, drove back to his flat at around 11.30pm. Ms Jeffery told the inquest: “As soon as we left the pub that’s where my recollection goes. I remember stopping at an off-licence, but the next thing I remember is going to bed and taking my shoes off.”

She described how some hours later she ran out onto the balcony, where she saw Mr Gordon lying below. She said: “Something happened that made me run to the balcony but I can’t remember what. Maybe he shouted.”

Lewis Clark, who lives in the block, told the inquest that he heard a woman leaving the flat crying. He said: “I called out to her. She looked up and said: ‘Didn’t you just fall off the balcony?’ She seemed confused.”

The inquest heard Ms Jeffery called police the following day after having a flashback from the previous evening. She was already being sought by detectives after leaving her handbag, shoes and keys in Mr Gordon’s bedroom. 

She was arrested by police, but was released without charge when it became clear there was no evidence a crime had taken place.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Andy Yeates told the inquest it was “unlikely” Mr Gordon could have been pushed over the balcony wall, which was well over a metre high.

He also said marks in the grass suggested Mr Gordon had fallen feet first before “slipping sharply backwards” and hitting his head on concrete.

The inquest heard that, due to the flat’s “history”, detectives were initially open-minded over whether anyone else was involved in the death. Police had raided the property two weeks earlier and uncovered a stash of guns. 

But DI Yeates confirmed police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the death.

Recording an open verdict, Dr Reid said he accepted Ms Jeffery was “genuine” and added that it was impossible to be sure how Mr Gordon came to fall.

“The possibility of an accident while Mr Gordon was intoxicated cannot be excluded but it cannot be proven,” he said.

Speaking outside the court, Moya Gordon, Mr Gordon’s mother, paid tribute to a “lovely boy” who was well-liked  by everyone who knew him. 

She said: “We all miss him terribly but especially his daughters. He lived for his two daughters.”