A 19-year-old has tragically died whilst exploring the Stranger Things ‘Hawkins Laboratory’ building where the show was filmed.
The American teenager, Leah Palmirotto, died Friday, December 19, shortly before 1am whilst exploring the abandoned building with friends. She fell to her death while exploring the ‘Briarcliff Building’, an abandoned part of Emory University which used to house a mental health asylum and was where they filmed much of the Netflix series.
Police are still working to ascertain the exact cause of death, however it has been confirmed that she fell from the roof of the building.
The Netflix TV show’s early seasons centred around ‘Hawkins Laboratory’, a government facility where they did scientific testing on otherworldly beings and creatures.
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Whilst the later seasons have become less focused on this, the viral nature of the TV show has inspired multiple YouTubers and local people in the past to explore the abandoned building.
In addition to Stranger Things the building has also been the site of filming for The Vampire Diaries, Ozark, and WandaVision.
Though it had been fenced off to the public, it is believed that Leah and friends jumped over a chain-link fence to access the abandoned building.
Speaking to Fox5Atlanta, her father Todd Palmirotto Jr revealed that he was given the heartbreaking news by police officers who came to his door.
He called her ‘perfect’, saying: “I was blown away. I just wasn’t sure.”
He went on to say: “Going to these places are dangerous, being with people that you really don’t know, like we just kind of always had something in the back of our mind that something could happen.
“I’m just hoping it was instant. I just hope she felt no pain.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up by a family friend, Tom Cavanaugh, currently sitting at over $2,500.
It calls her a ‘beloved daughter’, saying that she died ‘doing stuff that normal 19-year-old kids do’ which ‘ended up in pure devastation’.
The post goes on to say: “Leah had an affinity for cars and photography. She loved exploring and photographing abandoned buildings.
“She adored car shows and went to several every week to peruse the cars and photograph them for the owners.
“She was a beautiful and vibrant young lady originally from Florida who lived for the beach and outdoors. She was always the popular kid in school and got along with everybody.
“Her family is left absolutely heartbroken.”
Leah is survived by her parents, two brothers, and the family will be holding a vigil for her this coming week.
Topics: Crime, Netflix, Stranger Things, US News, True Crime, Viral
Michael Slavin