Cousin of British film actress Aletha Shepherd plunged three floors to his death after falling asleep on a hotel balcony in Ibiza

A cousin of British film actress and former Miss World Guyana, Aletha Shepherd plunged to his death after falling asleep on a ledge between two balconies at an Ibiza hotel, an inquest has heard.

Electrician Carl Shepherd died on the last night of a group holiday to Play d’en Bossa on the Balearic island in August 2017.He stayed in for the night at the Jet Apartments room where the group were staying, while friends went out partying, Southwark Coroner’s Court heard this week.

The 28-year-old father of one who lived in Mitcham, south London, is said to have fallen asleep on a ledge between two balconies before friends returned that night to discover he had fallen three storeys to the ground and suffered catastrophic head injuries.

A coroner in London recorded a verdict of accidental death after hearing Mr. Shepherd had alcohol, cocaine, and ecstasy in his system.

He is thought to have fallen at around 5am August 17, 2017. He was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.

The court heard that the friends had extended their stay in Ibiza for one further night after having ‘the time of their lives’.

Close friend Mike Higgans said: ‘Carl chose to stay in, he was far too exhausted to go out on the Sunday.’

Mr. Higgans added: ‘We left the club at around 5.30am, when we got back there were some emergency services outside the apartment.

‘As we arrived at the room I remember walking out and looking down at the floor.

‘We ran downstairs and was told to stand back. It was by far the worst moment if our entire lives.

‘Our neighbours stated that they had seen him sleeping on the edge, he looked ‘stable’ according to them.

‘I can only imagine that he rolled off in his sleep, there was no barriers at the end of the balcony.

‘He could party slightly longer than us, but he had been drinking from early that day, I wasn’t surprised when he said he felt shattered.’

Friend Ricardo Desenzo said: ‘Dan was a happy guy, that was just him.

‘He was awake, I spoke to him at approximately 4am after returning from the club early.

‘Dan was sitting on the ledge between the two balconies facing the room, he seemed happy.’

Ms Deonarine said the death occurred as a result of as a fracture to the base of the skull, due to a ‘fall from height’.

The death was recorded as an accident.

She said: ‘We have no evidence that any shenanigans were going on that balcony that day.

‘His death arose as an unintended act, it was as a result of an accident, I will record an accidental death.’