A British tourist plunged to his death after falling from his hotel balcony hours after proposing to his girlfriend, an inquest had heard.
Stephen Willits fell from the third floor of a Corfu hotel in Greece in August 2020, but the cause of his fall is unknown, an inquest has ruled.
The 45-year-old suffered traumatic injuries and was ‘heavily intoxicated’ at the time.
He had returned to his hotel room with his fiancée at around midnight following a meal and drinks. But an hour later he fell from the balcony.
He had been sharing the happy news of his engagement with friends, family and other hotel guests and was in ‘good spirits’, the inquest heard.
Stephen Willits fell from the third floor of a Corfu hotel in Greece in August 2020, but the cause of his fall is unknown, an inquest has ruled
Leslie Willits, the sister of the Alton Towers worker, told StokeonTrent Live he was the ‘nicest person ever’ and didn’t have a ‘bad bone in his body’.
The inquest heard Mr Willits, from Uttoxeter, had ‘mild depression’ but he had no history of suicidal thoughts or acute mental health illness.
Staffordshire assistant coroner Daniel Howe said: ‘Stephen died as a result of falling from height. He seemed to be in good spirits,’ the Mirror reported.
‘He had proposed to his girlfriend that day and was happy about it. He made positive comments to family, on Facebook, and to other residents at the hotel.
‘I’m satisfied that he was heavily intoxicated from the toxicology report. Why he approached the balcony, I cannot determine.’