Woman dead after high-rise balcony fall in Parramatta

A man taken by police for questioning after a woman fell from a seventh-floor apartment balcony in Parramatta has been released without charge as investigations into the incident continue.

Police in Parramatta after a woman died in a fall from her seventh-floor balcony. Picture: Supplied

A woman was spotted hanging from a seventh-floor balcony only minutes before falling to her death off a high-rise Parramatta apartment on Thursday.

Her partner was taken in for questioning by police but was later released without charge over the incident.

The woman was found by emergency services about 1.40am on Thursday outside the unit block on River Rd, Parramatta, suffering multiple injuries.

Police officers attempted CPR but she died at the scene.

The woman, believed to be aged 39, is yet to be formally identified.

Investigators took the woman’s partner, a 40-year-old man, to Parramatta Police Station for questioning, but by late on Thursday afternoon police confirmed he had been released amid the ongoing investigation. The man has not been charged.

Forensic officers at the apartment on Thursday morning. Picture: Gaye Gerard

A woman was found in the street with critical injuries and later died on River Rd, Parramatta. Picture: Supplied

Parramatta Police Area Command Detective Superintendent Barry Vincent said police first received a call at about 11.30pm on Wednesday night from a phone at the apartment where “raised voices” were heard, but no one spoke directly to officers.

Supt Vincent said police managed to call the phone back and spoke to the man, telling him that officers were on their way to the building, when they received a call from a man standing on the street at about 1.40am about the woman hanging from a balcony.

By the time they arrived minutes later, she had fallen.

Supt Vincent said there “were previously interactions with police with that couple” and that the seventh-floor unit the woman had fallen from was the man’s residence.

“Whether they still ... were in a domestic relationship is unclear,” he said.

Supt Vincent said the man had an active AVO protecting him, and that it was still unclear how the woman fell to the ground.

When asked if the case was “complex”, Supt Vincent acknowledged that it “certainly is” and said that was why police were calling for any public information to help with the investigation.

He said police were also looking into the response from officers to the first call and the time it took for them to arrive at the property.

“We receive calls similar to this quite often, it is our usual practice to attend and confirm that everything was OK,” Mr Vincent said.

Officers including forensics specialists were at the scene on Thursday morning. Picture: Supplied

Police speak to residents of an apartment block in Parramatta after a woman fell to her death overnight. Picture: Supplied

At the unit block, police forensics officers were at the scene examining both the site outside the building where the woman landed and the balcony she fell from.

Resident Sai Pamula said he heard a “loud smashing noise” before the woman was discovered.

“I thought someone just (threw) something,” Mr Pamula said.

Resident Michael Wehbe, said he heard a “single yelp” but he didn’t know a woman had died.

“It was a female scream … (it was) possibly (related),” Mr Wehbe said.

He said he went downstairs and saw one man on the phone to police before they quickly arrived along with paramedics.

Another man told The Daily Telegraph he saw police administering CPR to the woman and that she had fallen into a garden bed.

“I just saw police giving CPR to someone … it was pretty shocking to see,” he said.

Another resident claimed a friend heard the sound of raised voices coming from the apartment for about 20 minutes before the incident happened.

A crime scene has been established and police are continuing to investigate the incident.

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