‘Bubbly’ woman ‘desperate’ to have a baby was 12 weeks pregnant when she jumped from tower block to her death

Selamawit Tewelde, aged 37, died after jumping from a window at the Robertshaw tower block, on Brightmore Drive, Netherthorpe, on December 7, 2023.

Assistant coroner Stephen Eccleston recorded the death as suicide at the conclusion into her death today, August 13.

Her fatal injuries were consistent with those of falling from a significant height, and a post mortem found that she had been 12 to 13 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.

Written evidence from Selamawit’s husband of 14 years revealed that the couple had gone to sleep after a normal evening on December 6, and she “didn’t appear to be upset or worried about anything”. However, at around 2.30am he awoke to find she was not in bed.

He had searched the two-bedroom apartment, and woke up his nephew who was living with them, before calling friends to help in the search.

At 3.21am she was reported missing to South Yorkshire Police via 101. A police officer attended the scene at 3.43am and a search commenced. However at 7.32am a call from the ambulance control reported that a member of the public had found a body at the base of the tower block. She was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.

Detective Constable Gareth Rees told the court that CCTV showed Selamawit falling from the building shortly after 2am, and how their enquiries found “no suspicious circumstances at all”.

While carrying out enquiries, Selamawit’s husband described how when his search party returned to the flat, they noticed the living room window was open behind the curtains, and closed it.

There were no notes or messages on her phone that detailed any intention to end her life. Her friends and family described it as a shock as she was an orthodox Christian, and suicide was against her faith. However, Mr Eccleston said: “Context is relevant and in this case this was a very traumatic act. There’s no signs of it being an accident.”

Members of the family noted that Selamawit had suffered a number of miscarriages, and was under investigations by health professionals. Her GP noted that she had not been seen recently, and that she had no history of mental health problems.

In evidence heard in court, family members described Selamawit as “happy and bubbly”, but added that she “wanted a baby so desperately”, and wanted a “happy family”.

She was described as having lots of friends, and her husband added it was “only her miscarriages that caused her to become upset and to cry”.

Selamawit’s death was the second in 18 months to occur at a Sheffield City Council high-rise tower block. In March, a conclusion into the death of Saffra Winn found she had plummeted to her death from her high-rise flat on Martin Street in Upperthorpe in July 2022. 

Despite the two deaths, assistant coroner Alexandra Pountney wrote in a prevention of further death report in March that Sheffield City Council has still not completed any risk assessment of the windows or the safety latches on the windows. She added: “I am concerned that a failure to properly investigate and risk assess any incident of this nature, together with the absence of any formal procedure or policy for this process, poses a risk of future death.”

In the wake of the tragedies, Sheffield City Council set up a High-Rise Forum to address safety, and had written to all tower block residents to advise them on the safe use of their windows.

Samaritans are available 24/7, 365 days a year to provide support for people who are experiencing distress or despair. Call 116 123.