Dubai Some time in the early hours of March 24, a bright 15-year-old Jumeirah College student enjoying a weekend party with his friends, falls to his death from the 11th floor of a building in Motor City.
After almost eight hours, the boy's body is discovered by a security guard — on the lawn below the building's top floor common area window. No one knows how long he has been lying there…
A month-and-a-half later, Harry Harling's parents, Nicolus and Beverley Harling, are seeking information on what might have happened in the last eight hours of their "very happy, loved and loving" boy's life.
"My name is Nick Harling, my son Harry died in a fall from the 11th floor of NewBridge Hill Building 1 in the early hours of Saturday 24th March between midnight and 8.30 in the morning… a security guard found his body… we have no idea how long he had been lying there -- he was 15 years old," Harry's father's appeal letter reads.
Copies of the letter have been distributed by him in the direct vicinity of the fatal incident.
The appeal
"We cannot believe there was not a sighting of him after 12 midnight on March 23 when Harry told a friend, ‘I'm going to get a taxi, I'm going home," Nicolus told XPRESS in an exclusive interview.
"As yet no one has come forward saying they saw anything that night. As parents we are appealing for any information anonymous or otherwise that may help us to explain his last eight hours of movements. Did you see or hear anything that morning? Have there been any unauthorised parties held on the floors of that same building in the recent past?" the letter reads further.
Media reports initially stated Harry's body was found near a construction site. But an XPRESS report in March revealed the body was found on a grass patch directly below the 11-storey Newbridge Hill 1 residential building in Motor City. It's the same building where the alcohol-fuelled all-boys BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) party began on March 23 night and continued post midnight till the wee hours of March 24.
Fingerprint traces
XPRESS saw black powder fingerprint traces left by forensic experts, which suggested Harry fell from a west-facing window on the top floor. There were more traces on the two swing doors leading to the window in the common area. A close look revealed the window hinges were broken.
While an Asian worker told XPRESS that expat boys often partied in the building, a resident at Newbridge Hill confirmed that flats are unoccupied and their doors left ajar, possibly by agents for potential tenants to view.
The father of one of the boys present at the party who was interviewed by XPRESS said the boys had had such parties before and Harry was a regular at such get-togethers… "Harry left following an argument. Apparently someone made a snide comment against one of his friends. He was upset about it," he had said.
Drunken brawl?
So was it a drunken brawl that led to Harry's fall from the building or suicide? Even as police seek to establish the exact cause, Harry's parents and friends believe he couldn't have taken his own life.
Nicolus said: "We do not want to undermine the Dubai Police or prosecutor's investigation as we understand the case is ongoing, therefore no comment will be made at this stage. However, we can say Harry was a bright, sporty, very happy, loved and loving boy who had an exciting future ahead of him."
Most of Harry's friends too remember him as a fun-loving boy with an infectious, cheeky grin and a great sense of humour. "Harry simply cannot commit suicide. He was a happy kid — a fun-loving guy who loved life under all circumstances," said a close friend and Jumeirah College schoolmate. A school staff had then suspected foul play, saying that Harry couldn't have possibly climbed to the window on his own if he was drunk.
A source at Dubai Police told XPRESS earlier that Harry's friends would be fingerprinted to find out who all partied with him.
'Loud noise'
In his appeal letter, Nicolus said he wanted to get in touch with a Swiss man XPRESS interviewed for their March 29 edition. The man, who had just moved into Newbridge Hill, heard loud noises coming from a flat on the top floor when he and his wife were taking a stroll to Spinneys at the nearby Foxhill building around 10pm on March 23. The noise, the Swiss man said, was still there when they returned about an hour later.
Nicolus has requested that his contact details are not published. Instead he urged readers to share any information they may have about the case with XPRESS so that it can be passed on to him.
