Woman dies after falling from balcony - No foul play suspected in bizarre incident

The Barnett Street police in Montego Bay, St James, are investigating a case in which a woman fell to her death from the third floor of a hotel on Sunday.

The woman has been identified as Sony Hewitt, 25, of Johns Hall, Clarendon. She is said to be a call centre agent who resided in the Corporate Area. A well-placed security source said that Hewitt celebrated her birthday with friends in Kingston on the weekend, but drove to Montego Bay on Saturday night to meet up with a male companion. She arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning and went to a popular party spot along Jimmy Cliff Boulevard with the man.

About 4 a.m., they then travelled to Hotel Grand A View and checked into a room which they had earlier booked. About an hour later, employees were alerted to a loud crash, and then stumbled upon Hewitt's body. An alarm was raised and Hewitt, who sustained head and body injuries, was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

"We have reason to believe that the woman may have jumped from the balcony to her death," the source stated. "We have questioned her male companion and based on evidence we got from the location, we have ruled out foul play for now. But we are still investigating." The source said that after being questioned, the man related that he and Hewitt had fallen asleep and after he woke up, she was nowhere to be found.

"He would have called her cell phone which rang inside the room, and after seeing that the door was partially opened, he went back to sleep thinking that Hewitt was getting a breath of fresh air," the source said. The source opined that based on how the balcony is constructed, an individual would have to climb it in order to go over.

When contacted, Head of the police's Corporate Communications Unit, Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, said that based on reports she received, Hewitt was at the hotel with a companion. She left the room during the night, went walking along a corridor about 5:46 a.m. and apparently fell. Hewitt died while undergoing treatment about 10:41 a.m. Lindsay said based on reports, there was no sign of a tussle.