PALMA
A post mortem on Boyzone singer Stephen Gately, 33, yesterday revealed that he died at his holiday apartment in Camp de Mar near Andratx last Saturday of natural causes due to fluid on the lungs, a court official said.
The autopsy carried out this morning did not reveal any signs of violence on the body, the Palma coroner's court said in a statement.
The preliminary findings of the post mortem were given to the deceased Irish singer's partner Andrew Cowles, who was questioned as a witness by a judge in Palma.
Gately was on holiday with Cowles when he was found dead in their apartment early on Saturday afternoon after they had been out in Palma.
Andrew has only left the coroner's court and he is satisfied ... that it was natural causes, Gately's lawyer Gerald Kean said on Irish radio.
There has never been any doubt that Stephen was out and had a few drinks. The suggestion of an 8 or 9 hour binge drinking session was wrong and inappropriate, Kean said.
There is no foul play. There is no mention of drugs, it's natural causes, he said. The judge authorised Cowles to take Gately's body back to Ireland for burial and the body was expected to have been repatriated late last night or, at the latest, first thing today.
The investigation into Gately's death, however, remains open until the court receives results of tests due to be carried out on autopsy samples at a laboratory in Barcelona. Statements will also be taken from other witnesses and the case will only be closed if the preliminary finding of death by natural causes is confirmed, the court said.
The Boyzone quintet was put together by pop impresario Louis Walsh, who also assembled Girls Aloud and Westlife, and was most popular in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Britain. The band split up in 2000 when Ronan Keating set off on a solo career, but they reunited for various events in 2007-2008.
No comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Currently there are no comments.