The wife of a prominent local attorney has fallen to her death from the balcony of her condominium in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.
Debra Smith, 60, died Sunday night, according to the Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety Department. She was the wife of well-known attorney Bernard Smith. The couple split time between living in McMinnville and Florida in recent years and had mostly settled in Florida.
According to information released Tuesday by police, the accident took place Sunday night around 6:15 p.m. when Mrs. Smith fell from her 12th-floor balcony on South Atlantic Drive. Police reports indicate there were witnesses who saw her falling and they have been interviewed.
Preliminary indications are Mrs. Smith was decorating the balcony with Christmas ornaments when she suffered her fatal fall. Police records show there were some lights which were partially hung, while there were other Christmas items already attached to the balcony. A chair was near the edge of the balcony.
Mr. Smith is in poor health and is not believed to have been on the balcony when his wife fell.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete at press time. According to a family member, Mrs. Smith will be cremated and a memorial service is planned locally at High Funeral Home at a later date.
The accident marks the second time in just over a year someone with Warren County ties has fallen to their death in Florida. Last year, a 22-year-old McMinnville woman fell from a 10th-floor balcony in July while vacationing in Panama City.