The hero neighbour who rushed to save Jake Hall when he heard glass smashing in the TOWIE star’s Majorcan Airbnb has broken his silence for the first time since the tragedy.
Rafel lives directly opposite the property where the television-star-turned-fashion-designer had been renting a home in the sleepy village of Santa Margalida for the summer.
Jake, 35, had invited a few friends, two men and three women, back to the villa for a small after-party following a night out in Palma on Tuesday night, playing music until the morning.
At around 6.30am, a neighbour passed the property and there were no issues, the party was continuing and the lights remained on.
But at 7.15am there was a loud crash and neighbours heard glass smashing as it hit the ground.
Rafel, a local construction worker, had been heading to work when he heard cries for help from a group of young women in their twenties standing in the street.
He ran across the road and through the house to find Jake lying topless on the patio floor with cuts all over his body and a large shard of glass in his neck.
Rafel rushed over to see if he could give Jake CPR, but the father-of-one was sadly already dead.
According to a witness, Jake Hall was lying topless on the patio floor with cuts all over his body and a large shard of glass in his neck
According to a neighbour who rushed to help Jake moments after he was injured, it looked as though he had attempted to run through a door thinking it was open. Pictured: A door similar to the one involved in the accident
Neighbour Rafel (pictured from behind) rushed to the scene to see if he could help, but he said there was no sign of life
As Rafel tried to help save the man, the women from the party, who spoke Spanish, were ringing emergency services and by 7.30am an ambulance as well as the Guardia Civil had arrived.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Rafel said: ‘I am no hero. I would have tried to save anyone who had been in that position and I would like to think anyone else would too.
‘We heard a loud bang and shattering of glass. I heard no screams. I had been heading out to go to work, so I went across the road and ran through the door. I could then see a body lying on the patio surrounded by a pool of blood.
‘His friends were in the street shouting “help, help” and that their friend had an accident.
‘He was badly cut all over his body, especially on his arms. He was topless but someone had placed a t-shirt over his body. He also had glass shards lodged in his neck and chest. There was a big red mark on his head.
‘It looked like he ran through the glass patio door thinking it was open but in reality it was closed. I tried to see if there was anything I could do to help save him but there was sadly no sign of life. He was not breathing and I could feel no pulse.’
As soon as the emergency services arrived, Rafel left the Airbnb to move his car so the ambulance could park directly outside the property.
Emergency services later declared that Jake had died at the scene, and his body remained outside the property until 1pm that day.
Legal sources have told the Daily Mail that the incident is being considered an accident.
An autopsy, which took place later, will confirm whether the disaster had been fuelled by alcohol and potential drug use, as many have speculated.
Rafel added: ‘When I rushed into the home I was focusing purely on the man who was hurt, but I did not notice any bottles of alcohol lying around or drugs scattered around the property.
‘The young people, who were well dressed, seemed nervous and upset about their friend, but they did not look as though they were high on drugs.
‘I later came back for a coffee break, and all the young people who had been partying with him were sat on the curb of the road, while the Guardia Civil stood nearby.
‘Two of the young women who came up to me were saying thank you in Spanish. The group seemed to be mostly Spanish-speaking.
‘It is normally a very quiet village, and there are not usually British people here. It’s definitely not a party town. It is so safe that we all leave our cars open at night.’
A representative for Jake’s ex-partner and mother of his daughter, Misse Beqiri said: ‘At this time, Misse’s focus is on supporting and protecting their child as they come to terms with this devastating loss.’ Pictured: Jake Hall and Misse Beqiri
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the sleepy street in the north of the Spanish island was swarmed by police officers after Jake was found dead lying in a pool of his own blood
Authorities in Majorca have said there is no evidence at present of a crime, while a legal source said the death is being treated as an ‘accidental death’.
Officials are now waiting for the results of an autopsy that took place in Palma on Friday. The results will then be sent to an investigating judge; however, these won’t be released, as is normal in Spain.
Guardia Civil confirmed last night that the reality TV star and model’s death is being treated as accidental.
A Civil Guard spokesman said: ‘There is nothing pointing to it being the result of a crime at this stage.’
The force’s officers are understood to have questioned several people who were at the house at the time the death occurred – believed to be three men and three women. Their nationalities are yet to be confirmed.
An investigating magistrate in the nearby town of Inca is understood to have been sent an initial police report and will be receiving the autopsy results as they become available.
The post-mortem will give some answers, while more tests of tissue samples will later be sent to a specialist lab on the Spanish mainland.
The results will confirm whether or not Jake had been high on drink and drugs when the accident occurred.
Hours before he died, Mr Hall shared a video showing himself dancing, painting and enjoying the local scenery.
The post – set to the Rolling Stones’ classic Beast of Burden – was captioned: ‘Life is b******s sometimes but I’m gonna try to remember the good things – ️ looking through things – I’m just making art – in many forms.’
Jake, who had ADHD and dyslexia, spoke openly about his mental health over the years – referring to Majorca as his ‘healing island’ and crediting his eight-year-old daughter, River, for saving him.
‘I was at a very low point,’ he said a year ago. ‘I’d lost something that I’d loved and grew from my bedroom. I went through a lot of turmoil. If I’m honest, River is the reason I’m here today. She’s amazing and we’ve got an incredible relationship.’
Speaking to the Daily Mail, his grief-stricken friend David said that Jake was most ‘at peace’ and his happiest self when with his daughter.
He said: ‘What I really admired most was the relationship he had with his daughter. You can see that she was his whole world.
‘Whenever I saw them together, it was the moment I really saw he was truly at peace. His daughter brought him down to earth and calmed him down.
‘He was an amazing father. He was a very loving person and was always very friendly with everyone. He was always in a good mood.’
David became friends with Jake almost a decade ago, when the model-turned-fashion designer started spending all his summers on the Spanish island.
Jake and his brother Sonny had been visiting Majorca since they were teenagers, with their parents owning properties across the region while the television star referred to the country as his ‘homeland’.
According to his friend, Jake only returned to the island around a month ago, with his first sculpture being put on show at NU Mallorca beach club.
David added: ‘He would come here every summer and in the winter he would travel elsewhere. He rented out the villa to use it as an art studio, using his creativity to paint and make designs.
‘He was hoping to host some art events there and was also looking for a space to perform his music in Palma, which I was helping him with.
‘He only arrived a few weeks, perhaps a month ago and was preparing the house for summer. It was a space where he felt comfortable creating in and he was only inviting those people he was very close with to see or sell his art.’
Jake’s grief-stricken friend David said the Towie star was most ‘at peace’ and his happiest self when he was with his daughter
Jack Fincham, another friend of Jake’s who previously worked with him, also paid tribute to the star, adding that he was a ‘brilliant father’.
The actor and former Love Island star told the Daily Mail: ‘He was a good friend of mine and we were doing a clothing line together at one point. But I haven’t seen him in years.
‘He was a great person and an inspiration. Whatever he put his mind to he did. We worked together, we partied together, and he even designed the clothes for my first film premiere.
‘Jake was just such a pleasure to be around. A very handsome guy and a very funny guy. He was a brilliant father, you could see how great he was with his daughter.
‘He was someone I aspired to be like and I used to watch him thinking that is what success is.’
A representative for Jake’s ex-partner and mother of his daughter, Misse Beqiri said: ‘At this time, Misse’s focus is on supporting and protecting their child as they come to terms with this devastating loss.
‘The family are asking for privacy, compassion and respect while they grieve privately.’