Cops have concluded that a woman who fell to her death during a rooftop terrace party in a penthouse flat after arguing with her boyfriend fell accidentally, even though it was almost an hour before he came down to check up on her.

Property manager Hilma Balsamao de Morais, 38, fell to her death from a height of 15 metres (49 feet) onto the patio of the residential building in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte on 20th November last year.

A witness at the time told cops how Hilma’s boyfriend, Gustavo de Almeida Veloso, who owned the penthouse from which she fell, took 50 minutes to come down from the party to the scene of the accident, only doing so when called by the police.

Gustavo and other partygoers told police at the time that Hilma had committed suicide. However, officers considered Gustavo a suspect after questioning a neighbour, who said he had heard a row coming from Gustavo’s apartment.

Suspicions were further heightened when Gustavo failed to attend his girlfriend’s funeral or send his condolences to her relatives.

However, cops investigating the incident have now concluded that Hilma’s death was neither suicide nor homicide and say it was an accident instead.

They came to their conclusion after questioning witnesses, who described the scene of her standing on the terrace’s ledge with one foot and her other leg giving way.

They ruled out suicide, given she was “a happy person and did not have the profile of someone who would kill herself”, according to investigation chair Ingrid Estevam.

The victim’s high blood alcohol level at the time also reinforced the accident hypothesis, as a result nobody is to be charged over the death.