Story highlights
Forensic experts concluded "there was recent use of heroin," police officer says
The 25-year-old TV presenter and model was found dead at her home last month
Her husband, rock musician Thomas Cohen, found her body, police officer tells inquest
The couple's younger son, Phaedra, was in the house at the time, he says
Heroin is likely to have played a role in the death of Peaches Geldof, the daughter of musician Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates, an inquest hearing heard Thursday.
The 25-year-old TV presenter was found dead last month at her home in Wrotham, Kent, southeast of London.
Her sudden death prompted shock in the entertainment world.
Geldof, who was married with two sons under the age of 2, was only 11 years old when her own mother died of a drug overdose.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Fotheringham told the inquest hearing in Gravesend, Kent, that forensic experts concluded that “there was recent use of heroin and that the levels identified were likely to have played a role in her death.”
Fotheringham, of the Kent and Essex Police Serious Crime Directorate, also gave an account of the final hours of the model and TV personality’s life.
He said Geldof’s body was found by her husband, rock musician Tom Cohen, on April 7 after he became concerned when he couldn’t contact her.
The couple’s younger son, Phaedra, was in the house at the time, having been dropped off by Cohen’s father on Sunday afternoon. The musician had taken both the children to spend the weekend at his parents’ home.
Having driven to the house with his mother and the couple’s elder son, Astala, Cohen found Geldof in a spare bedroom, Fotheringham said.
“It was obvious to him that she was deceased. She was located on the edge of a bed with one leg hanging down to the floor with the other leg tucked underneath her; she was slumped forward across the bed,” he said.
“Thomas called for his mother and they quickly located Phaedra and called the emergency services.”
Fotheringham said the last known contact between Geldof and anyone else was 7:45 p.m. on April 6, when she spoke by phone with a friend. She had spoken with family and friends throughout the day.
“All of the friends and family who had contact with Peaches during this period describe how she seemed her normal self and was making plans for the future, including booking a family outing for her sons the following weekend. There was no cause for any concern,” the police officer said.
There is an ongoing police investigation into the circumstances of Geldof’s death on behalf of the local coroner’s office.
Tributes flood in for ‘beloved’ Peaches Geldof
CNN’s Isa Soares and Brooke Bowman contributed to this report.
