Father of banker, 43, who plunged to her death in a multi-storey car park reveals she never recovered from being held hostage by Iraqi soldiers as a 16-year-old during the Gulf War

  • Elizabeth Cunningham was 16 when she was held hostage during the Gulf War
  • She had been holidaying with her family in 1990 when soldiers raided the home
  • She was separated from her family and did not seem them again until December
  • Inquest heard that she never fully recovered from her experienced in Gulf state 
  • But coroner ruled out suicide and instead recorded a verdict of accidental death

A personal banker found dead near a car park had been taken hostage by Iraqi soldiers during the Gulf War when she was a teenager, an inquest heard. 

Elizabeth Cunningham was held prisoner for months before being released, only to be attacked again later by Saddam Hussein's soldiers while she and her mother were out shopping in the Gulf state.

The 43-year-old's father, John Cunningham, told an inquest into her death that she had never recovered from the experiences which began when she was just 16 years old.

The West Sussex Coroner's Court heard how Iraqi soldiers raided Miss Cunningham's home as she slept during a holiday in Kuwait in 1990 when she was 16 years old.

On the morning of December 5 she was found by a passer-by on a pavement by multi-storey car park near Guildbourne Shopping Centre (pictured)

On the morning of December 5 she was found by a passer-by on a pavement by multi-storey car park near Guildbourne Shopping Centre (pictured)

She was separated from her family and taken hostage and it was not until December that year that they were reunited.

The inquest in Crawley, West Sussex heard how on another occasion she had been attacked by Saddam Hussein's army while she was out shopping with her mother in the Gulf state. 

After that she was banned from leaving the house, which her father said he felt had affected her ever since.

The inquest heard that Miss Cunningham - known to friends as Liza - had been found at the bottom of a multi-storey car park in Worthing, West Sussex after plunging from the roof. 

However, the coroner ruled out suicide and recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Senior coroner's officer, Jemma Gaule, said: 'Elizabeth, known to her family as Liza, was very much a family person and was always very supportive of them.

'When Liza was 16 she was on a summer holiday in Kuwait when a group of army militia, armed with machine guns, raided the house. 

'The family was held hostage and were taken to the Ahmadi Governorate building.'

She added: 'It was a very tense time for the whole family and they were taken to different locations and it was not until December that year the family were reunited.'

Mrs Gaule said that on another occasion Liza and her mother had come under attack from Iraqi soldiers while out to get food.

She said: 'Her father believes it remained very much in her memory and may well explain her phobia of leaving the house.' 

The court also heard how the death of her sister in 2004 from leukaemia, and then her mother in 2013 from illness greatly affected her.

However, Miss Cunningham went on to work for the Royal Bank of Scotland as a personal banker but left after two years due to feeling pressurised to sell PPI insurance.

Coroner David Skipp heard that Miss Cunningham returned to Kuwait to work for a consultancy firm in Kuwait City before resigning to come back to live in England as she found the commute didn't suit her along with temperatures of up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ms Cunningham was held prisoner for months before being released, only to be attacked again later by Saddam Hussein's soldiers while she and her mother were out shopping in the Gulf state. Pictured: The former Iraqi dictator 

Ms Cunningham was held prisoner for months before being released, only to be attacked again later by Saddam Hussein's soldiers while she and her mother were out shopping in the Gulf state. Pictured: The former Iraqi dictator 

In 2008 she was admitted to the Swandean mental health hospital in Worthing where she was treated for four weeks for depression.

After her release she spent a lot of time in her bedroom and would not go anywhere without being accompanied by someone from her family, the inquest heard.

In 2013 her mother died, which had 'greatly affected' her, the inquest was told.

The coroner heard how Miss Cunningham, of Hayling Rise, Worthing, West Sussex, loved art and was working on a display just hours before her death, which her father John said showed her 'positive' thinking in a critical period.

On the morning of December 5 she was found by a passer-by on a pavement by multi-storey car park near Guildbourne Shopping Centre.

She had suffered multiple fatal injuries. Mrs Gaule said no suicide note was found and no-one had seen her in the car park prior to her death.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Mr Skipp said: 'To record a verdict of suicide or to say she may have taken her own life, the evidence has to be beyond reasonable doubt.

'I don't have any evidence of that. Maybe she was on the car park and stood over the edge and fell.' 

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