A 19-year-old woman has tragically died after falling from the roof of a derelict hospital building in Atlanta, famously used as a filming location for Netflix's hit series Stranger Things.
The Tragic Incident at Briarcliff Building
Leah Palmirotto fell in the early hours of Friday morning, just before 1am, while exploring the fenced-off Briarcliff Building on Emory University's campus with friends. Emergency services declared her dead at the scene. The five-storey structure, a former psychiatric hospital built in the 1960s, is known to fans as the setting for Hawkins National Laboratory in the popular streaming show.
Although the property is officially closed to the public, investigators suspect the group gained access by climbing over a perimeter chain-link fence. Police are continuing their work to establish the exact circumstances that led to the young woman's fatal fall.
A Family's Heartbreak and a Life Cut Short
Speaking to the press, Leah's father, Todd Palmirotto Jr, revealed he believes his daughter had visited the abandoned site before. He expressed his profound grief, stating he hoped her death was 'instant' and that she 'felt no pain'. He described his daughter as 'perfect' and said her passing has been devastating for her two brothers, Devan and Lucca.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend, Leah loved exploring and photographing abandoned buildings. She was also a keen photographer of cars and regularly attended shows to capture images for vehicle owners. Remembered as a popular and vibrant young woman who loved the beach and the outdoors, her family said she was 'just doing stuff that normal 19-year-old kids do' when the adventure ended in 'pure devastation'. A vigil is to be held in her honour this week.
Aftermath and Security Review
The Briarcliff Building is one of more than 40 properties that Emory University rents out to film and production companies. Its credits extend beyond Stranger Things to include shows like The Vampire Diaries, Ozark, and WandaVision. In the wake of this tragedy, the university has removed the building from its listed filming locations on the Emory Film Management website.
The facility remains securely fenced off and is now reportedly under guard by security personnel. This incident has cast a stark light on the dangers of urban exploration in unauthorised and structurally unsound locations, despite their cultural allure from appearances in film and television.
