Finally, She Is at Peace ; for 30 Years After Nurse Helen Smith Fell to Her Death in Saudi Arabia, Her Father Refused to Allow a Funeral As He Fought to Prove She Was Murdered. As She's Laid to Rest at Last, Her Mother Describes How One Heartfelt Letter Healed a Bitter Family Rift

Summary

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AT NOON on Wednesday, a small family group stood on Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire to finally lay Helen Smith to rest -- 30 years after the 23-yearold nurse's mysterious death in Saudi Arabia.

As they looked out over the moors, remembering how much Helen had loved walking there as a child, they each silently took a handful of her ashes and threw them into the wind. Two wreaths were laid against a rocky outcrop.

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Extract

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Finally, She Is at Peace ; for 30 Years After Nurse Helen Smith Fell to Her Death in Saudi Arabia, Her Father Refused to Allow a Funeral As He Fought to Prove She Was Murdered. As She's Laid to Rest at Last, Her Mother Describes How One Heartfelt Letter Healed a Bitter Family Rift

For a few moments, they put out of their minds the shocking manner of Helen's death on May 20, 1979 -- the scandalous details of which were relayed across the world in lurid headlines and triggered a diplomatic crisis between the British and Saudi governments.

As each said a private prayer, they left unanswered the questions that still hang over Helen's apparent fall from a sixth-floor balcony during an illegal drinks party for expatriates working in the city of Jeddah.

Putting aside more than three decades of resentment, bitterness, estrangement and -- at times -- venomous hostility, Helen's parents Jeryl Sheehy, 73, and her former husband Ron Smith, 83, stood united ...

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