Overview

• Helen Smith and Johannes Otten plunged from a sixth-floor balcony of surgeon Richard Arnot’s Jeddah flat during a party where alcohol was forbidden under Saudi law.
• Saudi investigators ruled the incident an accidental fall potentially linked to intoxication or a sexual encounter, a finding immediately disputed by Helen’s father, former police officer Ron Smith.
• A 15-day inquest in Leeds in 1982 returned an open verdict after expert testimony highlighted injuries inconsistent with a simple fall and suggested possible sexual assault.
• Smith’s body remained in a Leeds mortuary for more than 30 years as her family awaited fresh forensic analysis before her cremation in 2009.
• The new documentary, airing June 23 on Channel 4, draws on hundreds of declassified government files and new interviews to explore whether diplomatic factors obscured evidence of homicide.