Woman died after window frame fall (From Mid Devon Star)

Woman died after window frame fall

11:30am Wednesday 5th September 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

A lawyer died when a half-tonne wooden window frame toppled on to her as she walked in the street, an inquest has heard.

Amanda Telfer, 44, who also acted as a volunteer investigator for a charity helping Guantanamo Bay inmates and people facing the death penalty around the world, died after the 13ft by 13ft window fell on her as she walked past.

The frame, which had been propped up against a wall, pinned her to the ground in Hanover Street, central London, the hearing at Westminster Coroner's Court was told.

Members of the public lifted the frame off her and tried to resuscitate her, before paramedics arrived and did the same.

But Ms Telfer, who was single, of Vogans Mill Wharf, Mill Street, near Tower Bridge in south London, was pronounced dead shortly after at 11.57am last Thursday.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox opened and adjourned the inquest to allow the Metropolitan Police and Health And Safety Executive to continue their investigation.

Ms Telfer, who worked for legal firm Keystone Law, was a volunteer for the charity Reprieve, helping represent British-born Neil Revill, 40, who faced a possible death sentence for the double murder of a drug dealer and his girlfriend in California in 2001. He was eventually sentenced to life after a trial last year.

Ms Telfer was pronounced dead at the scene after being struck by building debris last Thursday. A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said police were working alongside the Health and Safety Executive to try to establish what happened.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on Saturday and gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma.

Dr Wilcox said the investigation would take some time and said a review would be held in December to fix a date for the inquest. No family members were in court for the short hearing.