THE CHESS prodigy who died after falling from an eighth-floor window faced the prospect of having to give evidence in the trial of her father, who is accused of raping her.

Jessie Gilbert, 19, is suspected of taking her own life by throwing herself from the hotel room in the Czech Republic on Wednesday night.

It has emerged that she may have been tormented by the imminent criminal case alleging she was raped by her father.

Ian Gilbert, a 48-year-old City banker, faces trial next month on seven counts of rape and two of indecent assault.

Jessie had been taking part in the Czech open chess championship during her gap year, and was due to study medicine at Oxford. She died after falling from her window at the Hotel Labe in Pardubice, 65 miles east of Prague.

Captain David Krkada, an investigating officer, said it was likely she had committed suicide. Anti-depressants had been found in her room and there were suggestions she had previously attempted self-harm.

Gilbert has not yet pleaded. If he had denied the charges in court next month, Jessie would have faced the prospect of being cross-examined.

“We have information from her friends that there was a family problem that was on her mind and very much bothering her,” said Krkada. “My personal opinion is that it is more likely to have been suicide than an accident.”

Gilbert, who worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland, recently split from his wife Angela, 52. The couple sold their £850,000 home in Woldingham, Surrey, in March. Just over a week later Angela moved into a £595,000 property in nearby Reigate.

Gilbert is believed to have appeared at court in Guildford, Surrey, in connection with the charges in January.

Angela, thought to be a scientist at the Wellcome Research Laboratories, in Beckenham, Kent, now lives with her other daughters Sam, 21, Annie, 14 and Josie. Last week she released a statement saying Jessie had been “much loved” and was “exceptionally talented”.

This weekend further details of Jessie’s final hours emerged. According to police, she was sharing a room with her best friend and fellow chess player, Amisha Parmar, 14, and the pair spent the evening drinking.

In the early hours Parmar woke to find Jessie’s bed was empty, but assumed she had walked out for some fresh air.

When she failed to return after 30 minutes, Parmar roused her mother Krishna, an optician, and older sister, Jyoti, who were staying in a neighbouring room. Jessie was found dead in a tree below her window.

The teenager, who studied at Croydon high school, was one of Britain’s most exciting young chess talents. She began playing chess when she was eight, and in 1999 she won the world women’s amateur chess title at the age of 11.

She had represented England every year at the world or European girls’ championships since she was 12. In 2001 she won bronze in the European girls’ under-14 championship.

This year she represented England at the World Chess Olympiad in Turin and was ranked as eighth English female player, closing in on her cherished ambition: to become an international master.

According to one chess internet site, Jessie had cancelled plans this year to compete in Australia and New Zealand because of “family reasons”.

The Rev Howard Curtis, president of the Coulsdon Chess Club in Surrey, which Jessie had helped to win the county league and cup double this season, said: “She was a lovely girl who had everything but never lorded it over anyone. She is going to be very much missed.

“I think she could have achieved anything she took up, but she chose chess and we were delighted. She was very competitive but always played in a good spirit.”

Police in the Czech Republic initially believed Jessie may have died after a sleepwalking accident. According to friends, she had suffered from sleepwalking since her childhood.

But after further inquiries officers said it was likely to be suicide. The investigation is now all but closed until the publication of a coroner’s report.

“Once we have confirmed there was no criminal act involved, we can close the case,” said Krkada.

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