Shane Warne death: Warnie’s masseuse reveals shock discovery amid anger over security breach
More details and CCTV footage has emerged revealing how Shane Warne and his group of friends spent their final hours together before his death.
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Shane Warne and his group of friends had a standard Thai back and neck massage in the hours before his death.
A Royal Thai police source confirmed four masseuses were at the Samujana Villas on Friday, with CCTV footage showing the women arriving at the luxury villa’s loungeroom near the pool before later leaving together.
Warne and his friends Tom Hall, Gareth Edwards, Fred Witherow and Andrew Neophitou were staying together at the five-star resort.
All four masseuses left by 2pm, according to a police source, but a date stamp on footage showed it was after 4pm.
A police source rejected claims made earlier by another masseuse that she was due to give Warne a massage at 5pm.
The woman, named Pen, claimed she was due to give Warne a foot massage and do his nails at 5pm but he could not be roused from his villa room.
Pen then texted her boss saying: “He’s not having a massage now, he won’t wake up”.
“Shane was having a massage and the two other girls left before me,” Pen told The Sun.
“I had a text saying that I would do his nails and a foot massage when they had finished.
“I think Shane was sleeping in his room the whole time because I didn’t see him while I was giving a nail treatment to his friend,” she claimed.
“There was no sound in the room and they said he was sleeping, so I left.
“When I got home I was told he had died, so I was really sad. I think that he had been dead while I was in the villa.”
He was found unresponsive 15 minutes later by his friend Andrew Neophitu who went to check on him after being late for drinks.
Warne had arrived on the resort island of Koh Samui on Thursday night for what was meant to be a boys’ trip ahead of a planned three month break.
Mr Neophitou – Warne’s long time business associate and friend – was praised for performing CPR on the cricket great before ambulance crews arrived to take over.
On Monday, Mr Neophitou thanked the Thai government and people for the “compassion and honour they have shown Shane Warne”.
“We would like to thank the police force and the authorities and the hospitals that treated Shane. We would also like to thank the Australian Government in working with the Thai Government to get Shane home as quickly as possible,” he said.
MATE SHARES TRAGIC FINAL PHOTO OF WARNE
Earlier, a friend has shared the tragic final photo taken of Warne, showing the cricket legend smiling in his villa just hours before his death from a heart attack.
Warne’s close friend Thomas Hall shared the photo taken of a beaming Warne in Koh Samui, Thailand.
The cricket great’s body was being driven 600km to Bangkok on Monday night, with a police convoy providing security.
The 52-year-old’s body will be put on an aircraft on Tuesday at Bangkok’s international airport.
He will be transported on a commercial flight.
“Shane Warne was a much loved figure in Australia but also across the world.," Australia’s Ambassador to Thailand Allan McKinnon said on Monday night.
“It was a terrible shock and sad event for his family and for those in the world who loved him.”
Warne’s friend and business associate Andrew Neophitou - who tried to revive Warne after finding him unconscious in his Koh Samui luxury villa - thanked the Thai people on Monday night on behalf of Warne’s grieving family.
“On behalf of Shane Warne’s family we would like to say thanks to the people of Thailand for the compassion and honour they have shown Shane Warne,” Mr Neophitou said.
“We would like to thank the police force and the authorities and the hospitals that treated Shane. We would also like to thank the Australian Government in working with the Thai Government to get Shane home as quickly as possible.
An autopsy conducted at the Surat Thani Hospital earlier on Monday found the leg spinner had died of natural causes.
Royal Thai Police informed Australia’s ambassador to Thailand Allan McKinnon and Warne’s family of the results before making a public statement.
Warne’s parents Keith and Brigitte have accepted the offer of a state funeral, but will have their own private family service first.
The state funeral was likely to be held in two or three weeks, coinciding with the start of the AFL season.
But the MCG was expected to be available for the memorial despite the resumption of matches.
The logistics of an MCG memorial, where up to 100,000 people were likely to attend, would mean some delays in having a funeral, which in part led the family to choose to have a private service first.
A source confirmed plans for Warne’s funeral were still being mapped out.
“The family will have a private funeral as soon as possible,” the source said.
“It will be two to three weeks before they have a state funeral. It hasn’t been decided yet but it’s likely to be the MCG.”
WARNE FAMILY’S ANGER OVER SECURITY BREACH
The German woman who intruded on the ambulance carrying Shane Warne’s body was described as a “fan” by Royal Thai police.
The woman was carrying a bunch of flowers and was allowed to spend about 40 seconds alone in the van, raising serious questions about security surrounding the transportation of Warne’s body.
Barbara told the ABC she wanted to pay her respects to Warne.
“I am a big fan of him. It’s very sad that we lost him. I just took the flowers to pay condolences,” she said.
“I am sorry about yesterday but I (did) not mean (any) negative act by that. I am a big fan, he is a great player.”
Warne had visited Koh Samui four times and had been well known among the local expat community.
The woman was described by police as a “fan club” of Warne’s and had not been in a relationship with him.
“She knew he was in town and wanted to pay tribute to him,” a police source said.
The cricketing great’s family and Australia’s ambassador to Thailand were furious at the mystery blonde woman who entered the van carrying the 52-year-old’s body.
Royal Thai police have investigated how and why the woman was allowed to spend time alone with Warne’s body as he was being taken on a ferry from Koh Samui to the Thai mainland for an autopsy.
Warne’s family and Australia’s ambassador to Thailand were angry at footage of the woman’s gross breach of privacy, a Thai Police source said.
Royal Thai Police tracked down the German woman in the hours after the incident by searching her number plate.
Immigration Police confirmed that she was a long term resident in Koh Samui.
She was hauled into the police station and questioned.
A Royal Thai Police source said: “She won’t be charged with anything because she did not commit a crime. The family and the ambassador are not happy the footage was released in the media.”
The blonde woman talked her way onto the ferry, which needed a pre-booked ticket, carrying a bunch of white flowers.
She walked through the lines of cars parked to the front of the ferry where she found the ambulance, which had standard markings and did not identify that it was carrying a body.
The woman demanded that a cameraman who was covering the transit of Warne’s body stop filming her as she made her strange dash.
As she nears the van she turns to a cameraman and asks: “What are you doing?”
The ABC cameraman replied: “I was going to get a shot. Is that OK?”
The woman replies: “No, not of me”.
The German woman was accompanied by a Thai woman.
They spoke to the ambulance driver who opened the sliding van door.
Warne’s body, which was wrapped in a white and pink blanket, was lying in the back of the ambulance.
The woman was in the van on her own for at least 30 seconds before she left.
Footage showed that she was no longer carrying flowers when she left the ambulance.
Sawitree Jang Wongketjai, who was at the docks when the incident happened on Sunday said she had no idea how the woman knew Warne’s body was on the ferry.
“It was a normal ambulance, and it was just parked among the cars on the ferry,” she said.
“What she did was not normal – how would she know Shane Warne was in the van, it’s not like she could guess because it was just an ambulance. What was she doing?”
The woman was stopped before she entered the ferry but her Thai translator managed to bluff them.
An official stopped her and the translator said in English: “Yeah, yeah she knows him.”
After being allowed through, she added in Thai: “Thank you very much, she’s a friend.”
Warne’s body underwent an autopsy at Surat Thani Hospital on Monday.
Thai authorities sent his body to a more sophisticated hospital than the one on the holiday island Koh Samui where he died.
AMAZING DAD WARNIE ‘SO CLOSE’ TO HIS CHILDREN
It came as the Warne family poured out their hearts in grief at the passing of the cricket legend on Monday night.
Summer Warne said she wanted to comfort her father in his dying moments.
“Dad, I miss you so much already. I wish I could’ve hugged you tighter in what I didn’t know were my final moments with you. And your final breaths were only moments away. I wish I could’ve told you that everything was going to be okay and hold your hand,” she said.
Brooke Warne said her father had been cruelly taken away.
“Dad, this doesn’t feel real and doesn’t make sense that you are not here with us anymore. It doesn’t feel right, you were taken away too soon and life is so cruel,” she said.
Jackson Warne, who had a best mate relationship with his dad, said: “To my brother, my best friend, to my Dad, I love you so much. I don’t think anything is ever going to fill the void you have left in my heart. Sitting at the poker table, walking around the golf course, watching the Saints and eating pizza is never going to be the same. But I know all you ever wanted for me is to be happy, no matter what.”
Warne’s parents described their son’s death as a “never-ending nightmare”.
Keith and Brigitte Warne said that it was a “ tragedy we will never come to terms with.”
“To find words to adequately express our sadness is an impossible task for us and looking to a future without Shane is inconceivable, hopefully the mountain of happy memories we all have will help us cope with our ongoing grief,” the couple said in a statement on Monday night.
Brigitte and Keith Warne confirmed they would have a state memorial for their son, thanking Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
They also were thankful that the Great Southern Stand would be renamed after Warne.
“We would also like to acknowledge the support of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his kind words both personally and on behalf of the country, as everyone knows Shane was an extremely proud Victorian and Australian.,” they said.
“Brigitte and I are most grateful for the many messages of love and support received over the past few days and thank one and all for their kind words of comfort.”
Simone Callahan, Warne’s ex-wife and mother of their three children, referenced a famous quote in her tribute.
There are some “who bring a light so great to the world that even after they have gone the light remains,” she said in her statement.
His brother Jason said he was touched by the outpouring of love for his brother.
“Personally, I have lost my nemesis in all sports as a child, the person who smeared vegemite under my nose while he pinned me down giving me the typewriter, my big brother, my mate,” he said.
“I remember catching the train into the MCG in 1982, sitting in the front row of the Great Southern Stand with our fingers crossed the great Allan Border and Jeff Thomson would get the runs needed to beat England. Who would have thought he would have such a huge impact at the ground in the years to come and that very stand being renamed in his honour. Amazing life. Amazing guy.”
CLARKE’S LOVING TRIBUTE TO WARNE
Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke was among those to pay tribute to Warne.
Clarke labelled Warne Australia’s greatest cricketer, or at least equal to Sir Donald Bradman.
“He is – as his No. 23 said – the Michael Jordan of cricket,” Clarke said.
“But all that stuff is secondary to the friend he became to me and so many others around the game.
“Shane Keith Warne was loyal to the bone and would do anything for the people that he loved.”
Clarke, like so many others who paid tribute this week, highlighted how Warne was such a good father.
“Warnie was so close with his kids. He had a best mate relationship with his son Jackson and he loved his daughters Brooke and Summer,” Clarke said
“He lived every single day but I also know there was so much more he wanted to do and that’s what breaks my heart.”
Warne’s friend, former AFL player Brendan Fevola, broke down in tears on his radio show on Monday.
“I can’t stop thinking about them. Those poor kids have lost their dad,” Fevola said.
“They shared their lives with their dad and now they have to grieve with the world about their dad as well.”
Among the tears, there were funny stories about Warne as well.
Clarke remembered how he found Warne in his Speedos in his personal solarium bed smoking a cigarette when he visited him at his Melbourne home.
A caller to a radio station in Melbourne remembered how Warne would ring up each Friday with strange orders, including a Hawaiian Pizza with pineapple only on one half and ham on the other.
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