Kenyan student Sheila Chebii fell 15 floors to her death while working at a Sydney hotel. Her family want answers

Kenyan international student Sheila Chebii fell to her death at a Meriton Suites hotel in Sydney on 17 May 2026 while working as a housekeeper. Police have not yet publicly released a cause of death View image in fullscreen Kenyan international student Sheila Chebii fell to her death at a Meriton Suites hotel in Sydney on 17 May 2026 while working as a housekeeper. Police have not yet publicly released a cause of death Kenyan student Sheila Chebii fell 15 floors to her death while working at a Sydney hotel. Her family want answers A month after the tragedy, mystery surrounds the death of the ‘cheerful’ 25-year-old who came to Australia to pursue her dreams Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast It was meant to be Sheila Chebii’s last shift as a housekeeper. For weeks, the 25-year-old international student had stripped linen, made beds and refilled towels in the rooms of a luxury high-rise hotel above central Sydney . That Sunday in May, the plan was for Chebii to return home to a dinner of soft chapatis with her cousin and friends. The following day she was due to start a new role as a cleaner, her cousin says. But about six hours into her shift on 17 May, emergency services were called to Meriton Suites on Sussex Street where she had worked as a housekeeper for less than a month. Police say Chebii died after falling 15 storeys from the 19th floor to a fourth-floor balcony. She had arrived in Australia from Kenya just six weeks earlier to begin postgraduate studies in accounting. Police have said there is no evidence to indicate anyone else was involved and no cause of death has been publicly released. “NSW police continue to liaise with the woman’s family as well as consulate staff and are keeping them apprised of the status of the investigation,” a police statement said. A month after her death, Chebii’s family is still plagued by unanswered questions about what happened to her. Kenyan community leaders say the mystery surrounding Chebii’s death has further compounded the diaspora’s grief. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email ‘We were doing life together’ Chebii, who had graduated from Kabarak University in Kenya, planned to move to Australia – her first trip abroad – to begin her master’s degree in accounting. Rockson Kibet, who met Chebii in Kenya last year, says she was “glowing” the last time he saw her before she flew to Australia. “She told me … ‘I’m happy my dream is finally coming true,’” he recalls. “You could read it from her face – very excited.” After arriving in Australia on 5 April, Chebii moved in with her younger cousin, Faith Korir, in Liverpool, about 30km west of Sydney’s CBD. The pair, who shared a bedroom in an apartment, would cook meals together. Over their kitchen stove, Chebii taught Korir to make ugali, a staple dish in many east African countries made of maize flour. “We were doing life together,” says 24-year-old Korir, who moved to Australia about three years ago. “It was so lively, jo