CORONER has admitted that the family of a Liverpool man may never know how he came to plunge five storeys from a flat in Spain.

Marcel Ogungboro, 33, suffered fatal head injuries after falling from a balcony in Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol in December 2009.

The British inquest into his death was heard yesterday, 18 months later, after the coroner said he was unlikely to hear better evidence if he waited for Spanish inquiries to finish.

Liverpool coroner Andre Rebello said: “We know there was head injury, we know it was a consequence of falling from a height.


“But what we don’t know is what caused the fall. I don’t think we can get beyond that. It may have been an accident or it may be something more.”

The court was read witness statements from Christopher Longhurst, 29, and David Patrick Ormsby, 31, who had been drinking with Mr Ogungboro before his fall.

They said they had been in a bar until 3am before going back to Mr Ormsby’s flat for more drinks.

At some point, they said, Mr Ogungboro went out on to the balcony and tried to climb over. They said they talked to him for 15 minutes and persuaded him to come back inside but he later ran to the balcony.

They said they “heard something hit the floor” and looked over to see him lying in the courtyard below and the caretaker looking up and seeing them.