Family demand new probe into death of Love Island beauty queen
Rumours a former Love Island contestant was murdered are circulating after her family refused to accept police claims she suicided.
WARNING: Distressing content
Police have responded angrily to rumours a former reality show contestant was murdered after an inquest into her apparent suicide was abruptly stopped at her family’s request.
Sophie Gradon, 32, an ex-Miss Great Britain who appeared on the UK version of Love Island in 2016, was found dead at her home in northern England on June 20 last year after allegedly taking her own life.
Twenty days later, Ms Gradon’s heartbroken boyfriend Aaron Armstrong, who found her body, was also found dead.
On Wednesday, a coroner ruled Mr Armstrong, a 25-year-old amateur boxer, had killed himself after bingeing on a cocktail of cocaine and alcohol.
But the inquest into Ms Gradon’s death — which had been due to begin today — was postponed at the eleventh hour at the request of her family, who want her death reinvestigated.
“There is nothing to support the suggestion that Sophie committed suicide,” the dead woman’s mother Deborah said in a statement. “We are still working to find out exactly what happened.”
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Ms Gradon’s friends have also expressed doubts she took her own life.
“They (the police) have probably worked out now that she didn’t (kill herself), that something sinister happened,” Jasmine Lennard told The Sun.
“The truth will come out. It won’t bring her back. But I want the truth to come out for her.”
The unexpected turn of events sparked a frenzy on social media, with Love Island fans sharing theories about Ms Gradon’s death — including their suspicions she was murdered.
That drew a furious response from Northumbria Police, who warned speculation of foul play was hurtful to her grieving family.
CURSE OF LOVE ISLAND AS SECOND STAR DIES IN NINE MONTHS
“We do not believe there were any suspicious circumstances around Sophie’s death and we do not believe that anyone else was involved, a police spokesperson said.
“The family received the coroner’s report for the first time last week and had asked the coroner for more time to review the file.
“The police have not been asked to review any further evidence relating to the case and it will be for the coroner to determine a cause of death when an inquest is held.
“We would ask that the public do not speculate about the case on social media and respect the privacy of both Sophie and Aaron’s families at what continues to be a difficult time for them.”
There have been suggestions the former beauty queen had financial problems that escalated as her mental health allegedly deteriorated in the months before her death.
However, her family remains adamant she would never have resorted to suicide, no matter how depressed.
In the days that followed Ms Gradon’s death, Mr Armstrong became increasingly withdrawn, sharing his grief in a series of heartbreaking social media posts.
The inquest into the young man’s death this week heard how he built a makeshift memorial to Ms Gradon in the Ingram Valley in Northumberland.
Northumberland South Coroner Eric Armstrong (no relation) recorded a narrative verdict and issued a warning about the dangers of combining cocaine and alcohol.
He said Mr Armstrong’s grief had been exacerbated by the fact that he, along with his brother Ryan, had discovered his girlfriend’s body.
“His thinking was muddled by the distress he was feeling at Sophie’s death, the distress at having found her,” Coroner Armstrong said.
“The alcohol and cocaine together prevented him thinking rationally about his actions.”
Mr Armstrong was found dead at his home in Blyth, at about 12:20 on 10 July.
His mother Donna said he had been “hysterical” when he discovered Ms Gradon’s body, while a friend who was with him the day before his death said he had been in a “bad place”.
Ms Gradon was the second Love Island contestant to die in an apparent suicide in just nine months, prompting producers to offer all future contestants counselling.
On Saturday, former contestant Mike Thalassitis, 26 was found dead in a park in London in an apparent suicide. Investigations into his death were continuing.
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