British man, 45, falls to his death from hotel balcony hours after proposing

Stephen Willits suffered fatal injuries after the tragic fall from his balcony in Corfu.

A British holidaymaker plummeted to his death after falling from a balcony just hours after proposing to his girlfriend.

Stephen Willits, 45, suffered fatal injuries after the tragic fall in Corfu, an inquest has heard.

On the night of his death, Stephen had been celebrating his engagement to his fiancee with dinner and drinks in August 2020.

They later returned to their third-floor hotel room and had been happily messaging friends and family about the good news.

But around an hour later, Stephen plunged to his death from the balcony while his partner was in the bathroom.

The inquest at Staffordshire heard how no one will ever know exactly how or why the tragedy unfolded.

Stephen, who worked at Alton Towers, was reported to have ‘mild depression’ but no history of suicidal thoughts or acute mental health illness.

A toxicology report also showed he was heavily intoxicated at the time of his death.

Assistant coroner Daniel Howe told the inquest: ‘Stephen died as a result of falling from height.

‘He seemed to be in good spirits. 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.

‘Why he approached the balcony, I cannot determine.’

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