Trial hears 'frightened' woman fell from balcony

A woman fell to her death from a third floor balcony while trying to escape an alleged attacker who had accused her of stealing his drugs, a court has heard.

Tia Langdon, 25, fell from a block of flats at Cuckmere Lane, Southampton, on 28 August 2025 and died in hospital the following day.

She was so frightened that she felt going over the balcony was her "best option", Winchester Crown Court was told.

Jaiden Hassan-Agard, 19, of Stour Close, Southampton, denies nine charges against two women, including manslaughter, false imprisonment, assault and making threats to kill.

Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, said Langdon landed on concrete, suffering severe injuries to her head, torso and limbs.

Opening the case, she said the victim also had facial injuries consistent with being punched.

Langdon and a friend, Shannon McNeil, were helping Hassan-Agard to pack drugs at McNeil's flat when he accused them of stealing, the barrister said.

The defendant had two machetes and initially "took his anger out on a water bottle, stabbing it", Jones told the jury.

He then punched Langdon in the face and threatened her with the weapons, before she tried to escape via the balcony, the prosecutor said.

Jones said: "How frightened do you have to be, how trapped do you have to feel, to be moved to the conclusion that going over the balcony was your best option?"

Hassan-Agard, also known as Rocco, has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and assault causing actual bodily harm in relation to Langdon.

He also denies threatening to kill both women, threatening them with an offensive weapon in private and falsely imprisoning them, as well as a charge of kidnapping McNeil.

The trial, which is due to last four weeks, continues.

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