Police are being urged to investigate the death of a British woman in a coastal town in Spain.
Pia Hokkanen fell from a communal second-floor window on her 50th birthday while staying at her sister’s apartment in Torrevieja, Alicante for three days.
Ms Hokkanen fell on a neighbour’s garden terrace just after midnight on September 4, in what Spanish police said was likely suicide.
On the night of her death, Ms Hokkanen had had an argument with her boyfriend of seven years, Eugene Doris, 42, who left the flat to go to a hostel four hours before her fatal fall.
He told the Guardian he was informed by the Guardia Civil that his partner was dead almost a day after he left her.
Pia Hokkanen fell to her death from a second floor window while staying at her sister’s flat in Torrevieja in Alicante, Spain on her 50th birthday
Mr Doris denied that Ms Hokkanen was suicidal and compared her sudden death to something out of The Final Destination – a 2000 horror film in which air disaster survivors die in a series of random accidents.
He said: ‘I think the police are still looking into it, yes, the police are still looking into it. I think I have to work with them and I think with some lawyers as well. It may have been an accident. It was probably an accident, yes, I think so.’
He added that he was looking for Spanish lawyers to put pressure on the police to investigate the evidence further, and suggested it could be ‘useful to involve the Metropolitan Police’.
Ms Hokkanen, who had dual British and Finnish citizenship and had lived in Britain for 25 years, had planned a birthday party in London three days later.
She was also looking forward to returning to Spain for another holiday in October.
Both she and Mr Doris had been enjoying a wine tasting on the day she was later discovered by a neighbor who heard her fall to the ground.
The Visa product manager was found wearing underwear, a T-shirt and a single slipper, the counterpart of which was discovered pointing away from the window where she fell.
At the time of the fatal incident, she appeared to be holding open a toiletry bag with its contents strewn across the floor of the flat, including lipstick, a toothbrush, a cotton swab and eyeliner.
Some of Ms Hokkanen’s friends expressed concern that the Guardia Civil had concluded she had committed suicide without taking into account more evidence, such as reviewing CCTV footage from neighboring properties, analyzing messages on her two phones and interviewing potential witnesses.
Enrique Puerto, 44, who had known Ms Hokkanen for 20 years, said: “If you are not a resident, but a foreigner, you become a statistic – case closed.”
Ms Hokkanen had been enjoying a wine tasting with her boyfriend in Torrevieja on the day she was later found dead by her neighbor
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘On Saturday, September 7, the Met was made aware of an ongoing investigation into the death of a 50-year-old dual British national in Torrevieja, Spain.
The role of ‘officers’ in such cases is limited to facilitating communications between the overseas authorities and anyone here in London who feels they can share relevant information.
“Information has now been shared with the Spanish authorities leading this case. It is up to them to determine whether further action is necessary.”
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