Tragic inside story of beautician Imelda O’Brien who plunged from an 11th floor balcony in Bondi: How her teenage sister died in haunting circumstances on a cruise ship before even more horror hit the family

EXCLUSIVE

A Sydney beautician who fell from an 11th floor Bondi apartment lost her teenage sister to her death from a cruise ship, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.

Irish national Imelda O’Brien, 30, owner of an eyelash extension shop in Bondi Junction, remains in hospital with serious injuries after falling from her balcony last month.

Friend Lauren Smyth said a sixth-floor deck broke Ms O’Brien’s fall and saved her life, but she still suffered a broken leg, ribs and tailbone.

Now details have emerged about Mrs O’Brien’s tragedy-stricken life, which began with the death of her sister 18 years ago, which in turn triggered the suicide of their heartbroken father Paul seven years later.

Ms O’Brien’s older sister Lynsey was just 15 years old when she fell overboard from a cruise ship during a family holiday to Florida and the Caribbean in 2006.

The death devastated her family and tortured her father, who had kissed Lynsey goodnight and put her to bed just minutes before her fall.

Receipts later revealed that Lynsey had been served at least ten alcoholic drinks by cruise ship staff on the night she died, despite being a minor.

Mr O’Brien described the tragedy: ‘We took Lynsey to her room. Sandra, my wife, told her we would speak to her in the morning.

‘I kissed Lynsey “goodnight” and told her I loved her… but within minutes of leaving her room, my youngest daughter, Imelda, started frantically screaming that Lynsey had fallen overboard.

‘Lynsey went overboard about 2am. It took about 15 minutes before the ship started to slow down. By then it had traveled quite a distance from the original location where Lynsey had fallen.

“There was no attempt by the ship to lower lifeboats to search for our baby, Lynsey.

‘There were media reports indicating that helicopters and rescue boats were searching for Lynsey; but we never saw any evidence of that.

‘The only immediate rescue attempt was lifebuoys, thrown away by a young man, who had seen Lynsey fall into the ocean.

“There are many unanswered questions, but my family and I will not rest until we seek justice for Lynsey!”

“Our family unit is broken…. We’re all broken!’

Mr O’Brien launched a campaign on cruise ship safety standards in the wake of the tragedy and self-published a book on the subject, ‘Lynsey’s Law: Coffin Cruise Ships and Obama’.

He acknowledged that he never really recovered from her death and endured a “living nightmare” until he took his own life in 2013.

Details of the family trauma were revealed in a court in 2016 after Ms O’Brien was caught in possession of 19 ecstasy pills and four packets of mephedrone.

The Dublin-born beautician was arrested during a music festival on the Mediterranean island of Malta.

But Ms O’Brien tried to escape from the third floor courtroom window when she was ordered to remain in a police cell for several weeks while awaiting trial.

The Malta Magistrates Court heard that only the quick-thinking actions of a court officer prevented a tragedy by grabbing her before she could fall three floors to the ground.

Ms O’Brien, originally from Tenure in Dublin, was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence and fined €1,000. Local media reported at the time.

On Tuesday, Ms Smyth declined to comment further when contacted by Daily Mail Australia, and Ms O’Brien did not respond to a request for comment.

Ms Smyth has previously said that while Ms O’Brien received help from friends, she faced financial challenges on the long road to recovery.

“Her whole body is extremely bruised and she is in a lot of pain physically and mentally,” Mrs Smyth said.

‘Because Imelda works as a self-employed person, there is absolutely no income coming in; bills and rent still have to be paid.

‘In addition, Imelda is not allowed to leave the hospital because she always has to have someone with her who can help take care of her.’

On Sunday, Ms Smyth launched one GoFundMe campaign to bring her family to Australia from her native Ireland, which has raised almost $8,000.

“The aim… is to help her mother and her partner fly over so they can take her home and get her the help she needs,” Ms Smyth said.

“(As well as) the cost of flights and a place to stay for her family while they arrange everything for her.”

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