Shane Warne confirmed dead of natural causes, as his family speak out on their “nightmare”
Thai authorities declare Shane Warne died of natural causes as his grieving family speaks for the first time.
Thai authorities declared on Monday that Shane Warne died of natural causes, as his grieving family spoke out for the first time, describing their loss as a “never-ending nightmare” and a “truly heartbreaking ordeal”.
Warne’s parents, three children and former wife all released statements honouring the 52-year-old cricket great, while in Thailand police said Warne’s body would be transported to Bangkok on Monday night and repatriated back to Melbourne on Tuesday.
Warne’s parents, Keith and Brigitte, described the past three days as a “never-ending nightmare” for the family.
“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,” they said.
Warne’s children, Jackson, Brooke and Summer, his brother Jason and his ex-wife Simone also released statements describing the spin-bowling legend as “the best dad someone could ever ask for”.
“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,” his youngest daughter, Summer, wrote. Our time was robbed. I want more holidays with you, more laughs where your smile lights up the whole room, more ‘goodnight I love you SJ, I’ll see you in the morning’.
“You haven’t died, Dad, you’ve just moved to a different place, and that is in our heart.”
Adviser of the Royal Thai Police Lieutenant General Surachate Hakparn told reporters at a press conference in Koh Samui on Monday night that the “forensic report had concluded it was a natural death”.
“We investigated and found there was no foul play. There was no sign of fighting or theft,” he said.
Warne had suffered chest pains before he left Australia and had planned to see a doctor about it on his return home.
“The lawyer and embassy are co-ordinating to take the body back to Australia,” General Hakparn said.
Warne’s manager and close friend Andrew Neophitou said at a press conference on Monday night that Warne’s family wanted to thank the people of Thailand for the “compassion and honour they have shown Shane Warne”.
As tributes continued to pour in, more details of how Warne spent his last hours on Thailand’s resort island of Koh Samui – a new suit, some vegemite toast, cricket on the telly, and an hour-long massage – revealed the larrikin sportsman doing what he did best: sucking the marrow out of life.
One of the last photographs taken of Warne – snapped at 11am (Thailand time) on Friday morning by his friend Tom Hall just hours before he died – shows the cricket legend with a broad smile.
Warne had been “buzzing with excitement” when he dropped in to see local tailor Parsuram Panday at midday on Friday to be fitted for a series of new outfits.
“When he came into the shop he was so happy, strong and full of life and energy,” Mr Panday said.
“He said, ‘Hey, Mr Ram, long time no see! He was happy, playful. He played belly punching with me. He was a nice man. He said he was ready for a break because it had been a busy summer in Australia. He was looking forward to going out to the bars.”
It had been a frantic summer of cricket commentating and Warne was desperate for a rest. He was going to live it up, too, if the clothes he had ordered were any indication; a sharp navy blue hounds tooth suit, five jackets, 10 pairs of pants, some ties and new shirts.
Warne had been worried about weight gain and had been on a crash liquid diet for a fortnight before his holiday, but Mr Panday said he noticed little difference in the sportsman’s physique from the last time he had visited in 2019.
To the tailor, “his body looked the same – he looked fresh”.
The only obvious difference was Warne was smoking this time, which Mr Panday had not noticed on his previous visit.
The leg spinner had spent his last morning at the Samujana Villas with close mates Fred Witherow, Gareth Edwards and business manager Mr Neophitou. He had flown in with them the night before on a Bangkok Airways flight from Singapore.
He had gone for a swim in the villa’s horizon pool and used the private gym, his friends told police.
By late Friday morning they were joined by Mr Hall, chief executive of sports website Sporting News, who wrote on Sunday – with the permission of Warne’s family – of an unexpected act of kindness from his friend of 15 years who greeted him with a “big hug and a G’day” before jumping up to declare: “Mate, I bought you a present!”
“You’re never quite sure what that means with Shane; it could be a bottle of his 708 gin, his fragrance, some book he thought I would enjoy, or a random T-shirt. He came back with an armful of clothes looking like he had been at a yard sale. Neo and Gaz were obviously aware of what was going on as Neo pulled out his camera,” Hall wrote in a moving tribute posted on his news site.
Warne had an appointment at a favourite Thai tailor to keep but before he did so the group grabbed a quick bite to eat.
“I have dined with Shane in many fine establishments, but rather than sample some of the local Thai fare, we tucked into a plate of Vegemite on toast. Shane chomping away: ‘Geez, you can’t beat Vegemite with some butter, always great wherever you are in the world’,” Hall recalled.
“An Australian through and through – this was to turn out to be his last meal. Ever the caring father, as I was leaving, he headed up to his bedroom to call his kids.”
By mid-afternoon, Warne was back at Samujana having a traditional Thai massage in the outdoor courtyard of the villa as friends wandered in and out.
A spokeswoman for the massage salon, which the Villas recommend, said he had asked the therapist to focus on his back, and had wanted a “Thai massage and nothing more”.
Thai police have said the Warne family told them he had been experiencing chest pain and “had seen a doctor about his heart” before his death.
But he made no mention of health problems before or during the traditional massage, which involved manipulation by the therapist using a sequence of movements similar to yoga stretches and had tipped generously after the session.
“Usually the customer will tell us if they have any personal conditions, such as pregnancy or diabetes, but he didn’t mention anything,” said the woman who asked not to be named.
The always punctual Warne had failed to appear for pre-arranged 5pm drinks with friends and Mr Neophitou had gone to rouse him, only to find his friend unconscious on his bed.
He performed CPR for 20 minutes until paramedics arrived, but the cricketing great had no pulse and never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead at 7.05pm (local time) on March 4.
On Sunday, Warne’s body was transported to Surat Thani hospital on the mainland, accompanied by Australia’s ambassador to Thailand Allan McKinnon, embassy staff and his friends.
Authorities insisted on an autopsy, despite the fact his death was never considered suspicious and despite the family’s wishes that his body be brought immediately home to Melbourne.
Additional Reporting: Joanne Tran, Georgina Noack
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