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Peaches Geldof died from drug overdose

The death of Peaches Geldof, the daughter of musician and Band Aid founder Bob Geldof, was drugs-related, a coroner ruled on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old TV presenter died at her family home in Kent, England in April while alone with one of her two young sons.

Forensic tests found heroin in her system and puncture wounds on her arms.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Fotheringham, who gave evidence at the inquest on Wednesday, said drugs equipment had been found near the body.

Police found a bag with 6.9g of 61 per cent pure heroin - more than double the average purity of street heroin - worth between £350 (S$738​) and £550 hidden in a cupboard.

Investigations into who supplied the heroin is ongoing, Mr Fotheringham said, but there have been no arrests so far.  

Addicted for years

Geldof had been addicted to heroin for several years. She managed to kick the habit for three months, but started taking drugs again in February. 

Her husband of two years, Thomas Cohen, said at a hearing that his wife had flushed a stash of drugs down the toilet after a conversation about her addiction

The 23-year-old musician had spoken to Geldof several times over the weekend before her death and she had seemed fine. Their last call was at 5.40pm on Sunday April 6.

When he was unable to get in touch with her the next day, Cohen and his mother went to Wrotham house and found Geldof’s body in the spare bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Memories of her mother

Her death was eerily similar to that of her mother, television presenter Paula Yates, who died of a heroin overdose aged 41 in 2000. 

Geldof’s last Twitter post was a photograph of herself and Yates together.

The young woman had been a regular on the London society scene, but gave up her partying lifestyle after becoming a mother.

At the time of her death, she was a columnist for Mother & Baby magazine. In her last piece, under the headline “Being a mum is the best thing in my life”, she wrote she was “happier than ever”.

History repeating itself

Coroner Roger Hatch concluded that Geldof’s death was drugs-related.  

"It’s said that the death of Peaches Geldof-Cohen is history repeating itself, but this is not entirely so," he said to the hearing. "By November last year she had ceased to take heroin as a result of the considerable treatment and counselling that she had received."

"This was a significant achievement for her, but for reasons we will never know prior to her death she returned to taking heroin."

Sources: AFP, Reuters

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