Model Sinead McNamara ‘partied’ with friends in the days before her tragic death
AUSSIE Instagram model Sinead McNamara was reportedly in “high spirits” in the days leading up to her tragic death in Greece.
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AUSTRALIAN model Sinead McNamara enjoyed a happy night out with friends, dancing, eating and drinking in a bar on the Greek island of Kefalonia just 24 hours before she died.
A Greek coroner is investigating how the 20-year-old former Port Macquarie woman came to be entangled in ropes hanging from the back of the superyacht Mayan Queen IV in the early hours of Friday morning.
While the coroner has said suicide is the most likely reason behind the tragedy, CCTV and toxicology tests are being examined to determine precisely what happened in the period before she was found.
Ms McNamara, an Instagram model and crew member aboard the Mayan Queen, is believed to have spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning enjoying the Kafelonia night-life with some of her crewmates.
The manager of the Baroque le Bistro bar and cafe told the UK’s MailOnline Ms McNamara had visited his establishment on Wednesday night and again in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Makais Chaliodis said Ms McNamara had drunk two vodka-based cocktails and ordered a club sandwich to eat when she dropped into the bar, near the Argostoli port, at 5.30pm last Wednesday night.
She and five crewmates stayed for two hours before leaving, then returned at 1am on Thursday.
Mr Chaliodis told MailOnline he recognised Ms McNamara from her pictures, and that she had been happy and enjoying herself.
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“One of her companions also bought a round of tequilas but I don’t know if she had one,’’ he said.
“They all seemed to be in high spirits and were happy. They were having a good time.
“They left at 7.30pm but some of them, including the girl who died, came back again at 1am. The last time I saw her she had got up on one of the chairs and was dancing.
“She must have only been here for no more than 30 minutes the second time and then she left.’’
Twenty-four hours later, Ms McNamara was dead, passing away as she was being transferred to hospital in Athens after being found in distress at the back of the boat at 1.45am on Friday morning.
The Baroque bar declined to make any further comment last night.
The Port Authority of Kefalonia confirmed there was CCTV vision relevant to the investigation but declined to say what it showed.
No details were provided of how many cameras were operating, or precisely what they captured in the period before Ms McNamara was spotted by crew members on a neighbouring yacht.
Coroner Elias Bogiokas, who conducted the autopsy on Ms McNamara, told News Corp that while the toxicology report had not come back, he believed she had died by suicide.
The coroner also refuted claims that he told the family to stay away from the morgue.
“I have not spoken to the family,” he said.
“I’ve seen reports on the internet saying that I refused members of the family to go to the morgue; that is not true.
“In many cases I ask the members of the family to come and see their relative.”
He said he could not say precisely how long Ms McNamara may have been at the back of the boat before she was found, and attempts made to resuscitate her.
“Probably it was less than one or two hours,” he said.
“I think it’s a suicide but I cannot confirm it until I see [the toxicology report].
“It’s a little bit complicated.”
The yacht is owned by Mexican mining tycoon Alberto Bailleres, an 87-year-old billionaire, who had left the boat several days before the tragedy occurred.
The Mexican Daily News reports he has returned to his home in Mexico City and made no comment on the death of the young woman who had been working on his boat for four months.
The six-story Mayan Queen IV is a floating palace crewed by 23 people which travels the world, including visiting Sydney in 2011.
It was last night heading for the Spanish party town of Ibiza.
Ms McNamara’s mother Kylie and sister Lauren are in Greece. They were on their way to visit Ms McNamara when they received the shocking news of her death.
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Originally published as Model Sinead McNamara ‘partied’ with friends in the days before her tragic death
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