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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Father's quest over nurse death | Father's quest over nurse death |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| By Alex Moss BBC News, Leeds Mr Smith believes the circumstances of Helen's death have been covered up | By Alex Moss BBC News, Leeds Mr Smith believes the circumstances of Helen's death have been covered up |
| The Helen Smith case is best known because for 30 years her body has lain in a Yorkshire mortuary. | The Helen Smith case is best known because for 30 years her body has lain in a Yorkshire mortuary. |
| Stored in the grounds of Leeds General Infirmary, it is thought to be one of the longest time periods that a corpse has not been buried or cremated in the UK. | |
| Helen was a 23-year-old nurse working in Saudi Arabia when she died on 20 May, 1979. | Helen was a 23-year-old nurse working in Saudi Arabia when she died on 20 May, 1979. |
| Official investigations claimed she, along with Dutch sea captain Johannes Otten, had accidentally fallen 70ft from a sixth-floor balcony during a party given by a British couple. | Official investigations claimed she, along with Dutch sea captain Johannes Otten, had accidentally fallen 70ft from a sixth-floor balcony during a party given by a British couple. |
| A long personal crusade then began by her father Ron based on a conviction that his daughter had been murdered. | A long personal crusade then began by her father Ron based on a conviction that his daughter had been murdered. |
| With demands for a fresh inquiry, Mr Smith refused to bury Helen because her body would one day provide forensic evidence. | With demands for a fresh inquiry, Mr Smith refused to bury Helen because her body would one day provide forensic evidence. |
| Coupled with ailing health from kidney disease and a written plea from his ex-wife Jeryl, Mr Smith has finally allowed Helen's body to be released from cold storage with a cremation to be held in Wakefield. | Coupled with ailing health from kidney disease and a written plea from his ex-wife Jeryl, Mr Smith has finally allowed Helen's body to be released from cold storage with a cremation to be held in Wakefield. |
| I'm not really concerned about people's emotions or about my emotions, I'm concerned about facts Ron Smith | I'm not really concerned about people's emotions or about my emotions, I'm concerned about facts Ron Smith |
| It may be the end to the 83-year-old father's dogged refusal to allow a burial, but his quest for "the truth" continues. | It may be the end to the 83-year-old father's dogged refusal to allow a burial, but his quest for "the truth" continues. |
| The Helen Smith case is an obsession that has drained away the normality of Mr Smith's life. | The Helen Smith case is an obsession that has drained away the normality of Mr Smith's life. |
| By his own admission, his daughter's death and the events that followed brought crashing down the expectations he had when growing up. | By his own admission, his daughter's death and the events that followed brought crashing down the expectations he had when growing up. |
| A previously practising Christian, Mr Smith has now converted to Islam. | A previously practising Christian, Mr Smith has now converted to Islam. |
| Speaking to BBC News from his home in Guiseley, Leeds, he said: "A young person grows up, is conscripted into the Army, then when he comes out he is full of the joys of spring. | Speaking to BBC News from his home in Guiseley, Leeds, he said: "A young person grows up, is conscripted into the Army, then when he comes out he is full of the joys of spring. |
| "You then go into the police force, you get married, you do the right thing and fight for yourself. | "You then go into the police force, you get married, you do the right thing and fight for yourself. |
| "You have four children, all who are educated well, and there you are thinking, this is what it's all about, and then all of a sudden my daughter dies." | "You have four children, all who are educated well, and there you are thinking, this is what it's all about, and then all of a sudden my daughter dies." |
| Entangled politics | Entangled politics |
| For Mr Smith, emotion is secondary - as a former policeman, facts come first. | For Mr Smith, emotion is secondary - as a former policeman, facts come first. |
| "I'm not really concerned about people's emotions or about my emotions, I'm concerned about facts, about being pragmatic, I don't even think about the emotion. | "I'm not really concerned about people's emotions or about my emotions, I'm concerned about facts, about being pragmatic, I don't even think about the emotion. |
| "I'm not built that way, I was in the police force and the Army for six years." | "I'm not built that way, I was in the police force and the Army for six years." |
| Saudi investigations concluded that Helen and Johannes had fallen from the balcony while having sex and concluded that the deaths were accidental. | Saudi investigations concluded that Helen and Johannes had fallen from the balcony while having sex and concluded that the deaths were accidental. |
| The decision was accepted by the Foreign Office and British Embassy in Jeddah but Mr Smith has battled against this version of events. | The decision was accepted by the Foreign Office and British Embassy in Jeddah but Mr Smith has battled against this version of events. |
| He believes his daughter was murdered and that the deaths were covered up against a backdrop of entangled British-Saudi politics. | He believes his daughter was murdered and that the deaths were covered up against a backdrop of entangled British-Saudi politics. |
| He has alleged the truth surrounding her death has been covered up by the British establishment at the highest level. | He has alleged the truth surrounding her death has been covered up by the British establishment at the highest level. |
| An inquest into Helen Smith's death returned an open verdict | An inquest into Helen Smith's death returned an open verdict |
| He has always claimed he has collected a mountain of evidence to support his suspicions. | He has always claimed he has collected a mountain of evidence to support his suspicions. |
| One unarguable success of his campaign was to bring about a change in British law after winning the right for an inquest into her death to be heard in the UK. | One unarguable success of his campaign was to bring about a change in British law after winning the right for an inquest into her death to be heard in the UK. |
| In 1982 the Court of Appeal ruled that inquests should be held into Britons who who died abroad in violent or unnatural circumstances once their bodies were returned. | In 1982 the Court of Appeal ruled that inquests should be held into Britons who who died abroad in violent or unnatural circumstances once their bodies were returned. |
| The jury inquest into Helen's death returned an open verdict and Mr Smith's campaign to find out the truth continued. | The jury inquest into Helen's death returned an open verdict and Mr Smith's campaign to find out the truth continued. |
| The events have taken a toll on the family - he has no contact with his ex-wife or children and leads a solitary life interspersed by dialysis treatment in hospital four times a week. | The events have taken a toll on the family - he has no contact with his ex-wife or children and leads a solitary life interspersed by dialysis treatment in hospital four times a week. |
| "I pursued this relentlessly for 30 years and in the process alienated myself from all my friends and family, because you just don't keep a body in a public mortuary for 30 years or for 30 days." | "I pursued this relentlessly for 30 years and in the process alienated myself from all my friends and family, because you just don't keep a body in a public mortuary for 30 years or for 30 days." |
| Helen's body may have finally been laid to a rest in a funeral solely organised by her mother, but there is no closure for her father. | Helen's body may have finally been laid to a rest in a funeral solely organised by her mother, but there is no closure for her father. |
| "It is not the end for me. I have no intention of giving up my quest that I started 30 years ago. I'll pursue it until the end of my days." | "It is not the end for me. I have no intention of giving up my quest that I started 30 years ago. I'll pursue it until the end of my days." |