Pregnant mother plunged 90ft to her death from open window in tower block after asking father for a cigarette - but her unborn baby miraculously survived

By MATTHEW LODGE, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Published: 12:42, 6 August 2026 | Updated: 12:58, 6 August 2026 A pregnant mother fell 90ft to her death from a tower block after falling from an open window, but her unborn baby miraculously survived, an inquest has heard. Emma Atkinson, 38, fell from the ninth floor of Shakespeare Towers in Leeds while visiting her father.  Her daughter, later named Posie, was born five weeks early in hospital and miraculously survived. But, the mother was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.  The mother-of-five had asked her father David Atkinson for a cigarette during her visit that morning, an inquest into her death heard.  The 38-year-old sad in a chair near the window and opened a pane to the point it was horizontal, he father told Wakefield Coroner's Court. He then asked her to close the window because it was cold, and said he heard her saying 'I'm off'.  Mr Atkinson told the court that he thought he 'was having a nightmare' when he turned to see her 'feet going out of the window'.  The father raced to the ground floor where an off-duty doctor, who lived in the block of flats, performed first aid on Emma and her unborn child.  Following the 90ft fall, the mother was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary. However, she had sustained 'catastrophic and unsurvivable injuries'. But, doctors managed to save her then-newborn daughter's life.  Emma had previously tried to take her own life twice and had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, the inquest was told.  Before her tragic death, Emma shared a picture showing her baby bump while a child hugged her legs in her final Facebook post.  In the comments, she told family and friends she was due to give birth in ten weeks and that she 'couldn't be happier' to be having a girl.   Emma Atkinson, 38, died just a month before her 39th birthday after falling 90ft from a window in the tower block in Leeds, West Yorkshire, on October 22  A large number of floral tributes were left at the tower block after mother-of-five Ms Atkinson's death  This is a breaking news story, more to follow...