Chelsea player Jordan Tabor “fell to his death”

Former Chelsea footballer Jordan Tabor plunged three floors from a hotel to his death after climbing the balcony because he had lost his keycard, an inquest heard.

The tragic discovery of his body was made by his girlfriend, who told hotel staff just moments before that there was nobody missing from her party.

After telling the concierge she was not aware of any missing men in their 30s, Danielle McEachran returned to their bedroom, only to find her 23-year-old footballer boyfriend absent.

Devastated Danielle then looked over the balcony to find the athlete’s crumpled body lying on the concrete below, on Wednesday July 23, 2014.

She told the coroner that she knew it was Jordan because of the bracelet on his wrist.

The pair were on a luxury holiday with her family, including her Brentford FC midfielder brother Josh, at the Titanic Beach Hotel, Antalya, Turkey, when they discovered they had lost the keycard to their room 108.

INS Jordan Tabor
Talented: Mr Tabor had played for the Chelsea youth team for four years

Jordan had played for the Premier League club’s youth team for four years until 2009.

He and Danielle had been out for a meal with her parents, brothers and their partners, when they decided to continue partying on the beach until 1.30am.

In a statement read by assistant coroner Jeremy Chipperfield, Danielle said: “We had been on holiday with my parents, brothers and their partners.

“We went out for something to eat with the rest of the group and to watch a show. We then went to a party on the beach until about 1.30am.”

The inquest heard that Jordan, from Oxford, consumed around eight glasses of vodka before they went back to the apartment.

She said: “We continued drinking. We had not brought a keycard with us so asked the people next door who we had become friendly with, to let us into their apartment so we could climb over the balcony.”

Her brother Josh, aged 22 years, who had played alongside Jordan in the Chelsea Academy, left the room at around 2.15am to get some food.

INS Jordan Tabor
Devastating: Mr Tabor’s family said at the time of his death they were heartbroken

“Then at 7.50am I got a knock at the door,” she continued.

“It was hotel staff asking if we were missing anyone from our party. I said no. They asked if we were missing a man in his 30s and I said no.

“I closed the door and went back to bed and saw he was not in bed. I thought he must have gone out to get food with my dad. I tried to call his phone but it was switched off.

“I looked over the balcony and recognised his arm because of the bracelet on the wrist. I notified staff he was missing then saw his bracelet.

“They asked my dad to go down and help with identification. He went down and recognised Jordan’s tattoos. He was in shock. They returned with my brother’s girlfriend to be sure.”

Hotel staff discovered his body which had multiple injuries to his head, jaw and back, at around 6am, but he is believed to have dropped to his death at around 4am.

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She added: “I can only assume he was trying to get cigarettes or food and tried to climb over the balcony as we had done earlier.

“He was also prone to sleep-walking so I can only think that may have happened in the middle of the night.”

A post-mortem examination by consultant pathologist Dr Sanjiv Manek at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, determined he had died from multiple internal injuries to his head and back which were consistent with falling.

source: the mirror