Exotic dancer’s Melbourne strip club death probe to be overseen by homicide squad
UPDATE: THE Melbourne club where a dancer died in mysterious circumstances has been accused of censoring Facebook posts about her death, as her family speaks out.
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THE Melbourne strip club where a British woman died in mysterious circumstances has been accused of censoring social media posts about the exotic dancer’s death.
Meanwhile, police are piecing together the last hours of Stacey Tierney’s life, before the 29-year-old was abandoned by a group of men inside Dreams Gentlemen’s Club after dying mysteriously.
The homicide squad is overseeing the investigation, while the criminal investigation unit awaits the results of a post-mortem examination to determine her cause of death.
A post on Dreams’ Facebook page this morning accused the club of taking down anything about Ms Tierney’s death, news.com.au reports.
“Stop deleting people’s posts RE: the death of Stacey Tierney. Your establishment has so far made zero public acknowledgment of the fact that this has even happened. This is a beyond shameful and beyond disrespectful way for you to be responding,” Mao Bedford wrote.
Another person asked: “Why haven’t you issued a statement regarding the death of Stacey Tierney?”
Lorriane Smith-Ngamoki said: “Shame on you all - carrying on like nothing has happened ~ rest in peace beautiful lady.”
Ms Tierney, from Manchester in England, was discovered alone at the Elizabeth St club just before midday on Monday, December 19, up to 12 hours after she died.
She was with a group of men, who had entered the premises after hours, when she died.
Police have focused their inquiries on whether illicit drugs were taken by the group.
“The exact circumstances surrounding her death are still to be determined and police are awaiting the results of a post mortem,’’ a police statement said.
“Investigators have spoken to her family, and the homicide squad are aware of the investigation.”
A manager at Dreams told the Herald Sun: “We can’t comment.”
The club’s Facebook page was updated yesterday — but only to showcase “Sexy Poker Tuesdays”.
The club spruiked itself as being “Melbourne’s finest tabletop dancing venue housing a selection of the most exquisite ladies”.
Ms Tierney, a fitness instructor, planned to study nursing and had travelled and worked in Australia for the past three years, recently gaining a student visa.
She had worked at other strip clubs interstate and had warned other dancers to avoid illicit drugs, and was not known to take drugs herself.
She had asked friends in the industry if she should work at Dreams and had been warned off, it has emerged.
In their first public comments so far, Ms Tierney’s family told news.com.au of their devastation and confusion about what happened.
Her uncle Graham Tierney said “she was — and still will be — my beautiful niece, a hard-working young lady who was full of life and a lovely personality.”
His brother Stephen, Ms Tierney’s father, was heartbroken by the loss of his “beautiful” daughter. Adding to their grief was the mystery surrounding what happened to her.
“We are finding it difficult to get information, and realise there is an investigation regarding the suspicious circumstances.”
Ms Tierney’s ex-boyfriend, Matthew Girvan, posted an emotional message on Facebook: “Woke up to some horrible news this morning. Sat and watched the sun rise over Indonesia. My ex-girlfriend I was with for six years passed away. Words can’t describe how devastated I am.”
A friend said the thought of Ms Tierney being left alone in the club without an ambulance being called when she collapsed was “disgusting”.
“I specifically told her not to (work there),” the dancer said.
“We’re adults, capable of making our own decisions.
“However, she probably thought that people in the club would have (helped her).
“It’s common sense, I’ve done it myself — if you see someone looking like they’re sick, you ring an ambulance.”
Ms Tierney’s family and friends have raised cash via the internet to have her body repatriated to the UK.
- with Andrew Koubaridis