Heroin is “likely” to have played a role in the death of Peaches Geldof, an inquest has revealed.
The results of a toxicology report showed TV presenter Geldof, who died suddenly last month aged 25, had the drug in her system. Geldof was the second daughter of musician and campaigner Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates, who died of a heroin overdose at the age of 41. Geldof, who was 11 when her mother died, left two sons and a husband. At a brief inquest in Gravesend, Det Ch Insp Paul Fotheringham, told the hearing: “Recent use of heroin and the levels identified were likely to have played a role in her death.” ‘Unexplained’ Musician Tom Cohen, whom she married in 2012, is understood to have found his wife’s body at their home in Wrotham in Kent after becoming concerned that he could not get hold of her. The singer had been away for the weekend with the elder of their two sons, Astala, leaving Geldof at home with their 11-month old son, Phaedra. She was pronounced dead at the scene. At the time, police described the death as “sudden and unexplained”. Family and friends maintained that she was acting normally over the weekend prior to her death and there was nothing untoward in Geldof’s behaviour. An initial post-mortem did not establish a cause of death and further toxicology reports were ordered. Reacting to her death last month, her father described the family as “beyond pain”. “She was the wildest, funniest, cleverest, wittiest and the most bonkers of all of us,” said a statement released by her family. “Tom and her sons, Astala and Phaedra, will always belong in our family, fractured so often, but never broken.” Geldof had spoken openly about her struggle to deal with her mother’s death – and of experimenting with drugs in her teenage years – but had cited motherhood as a central part of her “healing” process. Following Astala’s birth in 2012, “everything started to heal”, she told Elle magazine. “Even if it’s an archaic idea, I want Astala to have a mummy and daddy together for ever,” she said at the time. Geldof had two sisters Fifi Trixibelle and Pixie, and a younger half-sister Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof. She embarked on a media career at the age of 15, writing a column for Elle Magazine and the Daily Telegraph. She went on to front TV programmes such as ITV2’s OMG! with Peaches Geldof.
Celebrities including Kate Moss, Nick Grimshaw and Rolling Stone Bill Wyman attended her funeral on 21 April. Her final tweet, the day before her death, was a picture of her as a child in her mother’s arms, with the message: “Me and my mum.” A full inquest will take place on 23 July. – BBC News
