Before the new year, the Emory Police Department (EPD) began investigating the death of a 19-year-old woman who fell from the roof of a vacant hospital building on Emory University’s Briarcliff property on Dec. 19, 2025. The victim was not affiliated with Emory, according to Assistant Vice President of University Communications Laura Diamond.
DeKalb County police and firefighters responded to the scene at 1256 Briarcliff Road NE around 1:00 a.m. after receiving reports of a fall from an abandoned building. They pronounced the woman dead at the scene, and authorities later identified her as 19-year-old Leah Palmirotto.
In the past, film crews have used the building, including for scenes set at Hawkins National Laboratory in the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
Emory acquired the 42-acre Briarcliff campus, including the former Georgia Mental Health Institute, in 1998 and vacated the building, now known as Briarcliff Building A, in 2024.
Police believe Palmirotto was part of a group that had been exploring the abandoned structure when she fell. Investigators said the group likely gained access to the property by climbing over a chain-link fence surrounding Building A.
The Briarcliff property is currently fenced off, and portions of the site are undergoing demolition “as part of plans for a private firm to develop and operate a senior living community,” according to Diamond.
Emory is enhancing site security and adding signs on the property warn individuals not to enter and advise against trespassing, according to Diamond.
