The husband of a woman who fell to her death during a holiday in Morocco remained upstairs in their apartment while she lay dying in the street below

The husband of a woman who fell to her death during a holiday in Morocco remained upstairs in their apartment while she lay dying in the street below, according to a new witness.

His account deepens the mystery surrounding the death of Mathilde Lamb, 43, and that of her husband Roger, 47, who died in a separate fall four days later, leaving their four sons orphaned.

Mrs Lamb, known as Tilly, was killed after plunging three floors from the window of the family’s £30-a-night rented apartment in the coastal town of Essaouira during the early hours of August 17. 

Mystery: Mathilde and Roger Lamb whose four children have been orphaned after both of their parents died in separate falls

Speaking for the first time about the incident, witness Rashid Hamaini, an artist, said that no member of Mrs Lamb’s family came to her aid after the fall.

He said: ‘I was working late that night. It was about 12.30am and it was very quiet. Then I heard a scream outside – it was a woman’s voice. I ran straight outside and into the street.

 

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‘On the pavement was Mrs Lamb who was lying on her front. She was wearing a T-shirt and bikini bottoms and blood was coming from her head.

‘The scream that I heard was not from her but from a woman who had seen her fall from the window. She was standing in the street shaking and was very upset. I went over and comforted her.’

Mr Hamaini said he asked what had happened and the witness said she had just seen a woman falling.

Scene: The top floor window from which Mrs Lamb fell in Essaouira, Morocco

He added: ‘The entire street was deserted. It was absolutely quiet – not a sound from anywhere. There was no one in the street apart from the two of us.

‘Nobody came down to help the victim or to check her at all. Within ten minutes both the police and the ambulance had arrived and they took the woman away on a stretcher.’

Mr Hamaini said more police arrived 15 minutes later and took Mr Lamb and one of the boys away in a car.

Confusion has surrounded the horrific events which led to the couple’s deaths, with unconfirmed reports about them arguing over plans for the family to move abroad, and that they were experiencing financial worries.

Mrs Lamb’s family say she had been trying to remonstrate with revellers outside the flat but leaned out of the window too far and fell.

But witnesses said they had heard no raised voices prior to the fall.

Local police say they believe her death was a tragic accident caused by a wooden balustrade giving way. However, there are no signs of any damage to the barrier.

Window: The room from which Mrs Lamb fell

Witness Hasna El Akrab told the Sunday Times: 'I looked up immediately at the window. It was open but there was no light coming from it. I can say that the railing was in perfect order.'

Of the incident, Mr Lamb’s brother-in-law, Mark Rogerson, said: ‘Unfortunately because the awning downstairs was blocking her view, she couldn’t see what was going on and according to her son, she climbed up on to the balustrade to get a better view. 

‘She was leaning out when she overbalanced and fell. Roger ran straight outside and found Tilly in the street.’

He added: ‘We have heard a host of sometimes contradictory statements from witnesses. Further speculation can only be hurtful to the boys.’

Mr Lamb, a structural engineer, checked himself and his sons into the nearby Sofitel hotel after the incident and fell from a second-floor stairwell four days after his wife fell.

It has also emerged that the day after Mrs Lamb's death, her husband was admitted to Mohammed Ben Abdellah hospital by the couple's eldest son Angus, 16, after apparently trying to take his own life.

He was soaking wet, apparently having fallen into the sea, reported the Sunday Times.

He was released and the family checked into the Sofitel with Mrs Lamb's sister Charlotter and her husband Rupert who had arrived in Essaouira that day.

Tragedy: Roger Lamb with his four children and friends enjoy a campfire

A doctor was called after the hotel notified the hospital that he was unable to remember anything from the night his wife died.

Mr Lamb was given anti-depressants and a tranquilliser and the doctor advised the family to move from the second floor to the ground floor and monitor Mr Lamb 24 hours a day.

Staff were asked to inform the British consul so that Mr Lamb and the boys could be repatriated.

Mr lamb was seen sitting by the hotel pool, laughing with his children but the following day he had made another suicide attempt.

After eating breakfast with his children and Charlotte and Rupert, he leapt off a second-floor walkway overlooking an internal atrium.

He was rushed to hospital where he died soon after.

A family friend has also revealed that the police had been called to the couple's home in 2008 and Mrs Lamb begged officers to take away her husband's shotgun.

They came close to separating at the time, sources said.

The couple's children – Angus, Monty, 15, Henry, 11, and Felix, nine – are now back in Britain being cared for by relatives. The bodies of Mr and Mrs Lamb have been repatriated.