Reality star The Vivienne was found in a bath by a neighbour after lying dead in the water for a “couple of days”, an inquest told. The RuPaul’s Drag Race winner was found dead on January 5. The entertainer’s family previously said that the star – real name James Lee Williams – had died from a cardiac arrest after taking ketamine.
On Monday (June 30), Cheshire Coroner’s Court heard how a neighbour found the performer after being unable to get in touch with them. Janine Gobold said she had spoken to The Vivienne two days before to arrange a shopping trip.
But she then got a call from their friend on January 5 asking if she had been in contact. Janine said she would use her key to check in on The Vivienne, and noticed that there were no footprints in snow that had fallen outside.
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
She said: “I went into the kitchen and Ryan [her son] went into the living room, we were calling his name and there was no answer. All the lights were on.
“As we got to the top of the stairs, Ryan went one way and I turned right. James’ bedroom is there and there is a door to the ensuite.
“I looked at James’ bed which was all ruffled, I initially thought Panda [The Vivienne’s dog] had ragged the quilt on the bed.
“And then I walked past James’ bed and into the bathroom and saw James in the bath, he just looked like he was sleeping.”
(Image: PA)
Janine explained she rushed over to stop James’ face going into the water and called for her son to ring an ambulance.
According to Janine, there was a Deliveroo bag in the kitchen but no evidence of drug taking.
A paramedic who attended said rigor mortis had set in, and it was evident James had been in the water for “a couple of days”.
Cheshire Police had previously confirmed the dead would not be treated as suspicious.
The Vivienne’s friend Bobby Musker said in the days before, they had been sending memes and voice notes to each other. They last spoke on January 3 at 8.22pm in a video call.
(Image: Getty Images)
He said James had been to Liverpool a few times, believing this was to collect ketamine.
Bobby received a call from Janine screaming: “He’s in the bath, he’s in the bath.” He then went to the house and spoke to paramedics, who asked which drug he might have taken.
Bobby said: “Him taking drugs didn’t define him as a person. He did so much for the good.
(Image: Instagram)
“I don’t want the public to see him just as what has happened, with drug use, that wasn’t the person that defined him. There was a lot more to him.”
The Vivienne’s death was announced by his publicist Simon Jones, who described him as an “incredibly loved, warm-hearted and amazing person”.
Before the tragedy, James spoke of his addiction battle, saying: “It was party, drugs, but I couldn’t leave the drugs at the party, it was constant for me.”
The inquest continues.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
