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LONDON (AP) A British nurse who died 30 years ago in Saudi Arabia will finally be cremated after her body was held for decades in a mortuary.

A funeral will be held Monday for Helen Smith, believed to have died after a fall from a balcony in Jeddah city in May 1979. She was 23.

Her father, 83-year-old Ron Smith, did not allow her burial because he doesn't believe official Saudi and British reports that the death was an accident. He believes his daughter was murdered and that her body could provide forensic evidence to expose a cover up.

His daughter's remains have been held in a mortuary in Leeds, and after several post mortems a British inquest returned with an open verdict.

Ron Smith says he and his ex-wife decided to cremate their daughter before they both died.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-09-09 0631CST | save this article / add to your favorites list