The official cause of the death of Peaches Geldof – English journalist, model and television presenter – has been confirmed as being the result of a heroin overdose, an inquest looking into the cause of her death has found.
According to the inquest, Peaches’s husband, Thomas Cohen, told investigators earlier today that Geldof had started using heroin again in February of this year.
Dr. Emma Harris, the forensic scientist investigating Geldof’s death, reported finding a high concentration of morphine in Peaches’ blood, suggesting that she died “shortly after taking heroin,” and that it was “likely” the substance that played a significant role in her death.
Dr. Harris said in her report:
“Persons taking heroin on a regular basis develop a tolerance to the drug, and such individuals use doses that would be toxic, or fatal to people with no tolerance.”
Harris went on to express an opinion that Peaches Geldof’s recent return to heroin after an extended hiatus probably contributed to her death.
“…tolerance to heroin and other opiate drugs appears to be lost fairly rapidly when users cease to use the drug, and deaths commonly occur in people who have previously been tolerant and have returned to using heroin.”
Geldof’s husband told the inquest that his wife had been undergoing weekly drug tests – the results of which she had told her husband were negative. However, Cohen said that even though he had not witnessed Peaches taking drugs, he became concerned that she might be.
In the days before Peaches Geldof died, her husband – a musician – had taken the couple’s two sons, Astala (2) and Phaedra (1) to see his parents in London. Cohen said that his wife seemed fine when he spoke to her by phone several times over the weekend.
Cohen told authorities that the last time he saw Peaches – who was the daughter of Sir Bob Geldof – was at 5:40 pm on Sunday, April 6. When Cohen was unable to contact his wife the next day, he returned to their home with his mother and Astala, and found Peaches Geldof’s lifeless body.
Police investigators found “importation quality” heroin in a black cloth bag and drug paraphernalia in a cupboard above a bedroom door in Peaches’ house.
Forensic scientist Peter Cain analyzed the heroin found in Geldof’s home and reported that it contained a purity of 61% – far exceeding the usual 25% purity found in “street-level” heroin.
Though the BBC reported that Peaches Geldof’s blood contained evidence of codeine, methadone and morphine, the level of heroin in her body were in the “fatal range.”
Peaches Geldof leaves behind her husband and her two, young sons. The father of Peaches Geldof, Sir Bob Geldof, is reportedly inconsolable, according to STV .
