Boyzone star Gately died of natural causes, inquiry says

Published on Tuesday 13 October 2009 22:05

BOYZONE star Stephen Gately died of natural causes, authorities probing the tragedy on the holiday island of Majorca revealed yesterday.

The 33-year-old, found dead lying on a sofa in his apartment on Saturday, is said to have suffered an acute "pulmonary oedema," the medical term for an accumulation of fluid on the lungs.

Experts believe Gately, who had been out partying for several hours, may have been suffering from an undiagnosed heart problem, although heavy drinking and smoking have also been linked to the condition.

Officials probing his death refused to say whether Gately had taken any drugs or alcohol and declined to say if he had vomited before his death. They did say there were no signs of violence to his body.

However, the Gately family's lawyer, Gerald Kean, yesterday rejected claims that the star had embarked on a drinking binge before his death.

His grieving relatives have now been given permission to begin preparations to take Gately's body home to Ireland.

The boyband singer was found dead on Saturday afternoon by Georgi Dochev, who had accompanied Gately and his partner Andrew Cowles back to the apartment the pair shared in Port Andratx.

At a closed-doors court hearing in Palma, Majorca, yesterday, Mr Cowles was quizzed by a judge about the tragedy.

Mr Cowles later paid his respects before the body was due to be flown home from Majorca.

He arrived at the municipal cemetery in Calvia, near Port Andratx, in a dark BMW. He stayed for about 15 minutes and left without comment.

It is understood that Gately's Boyzone bandmates will be returning to the island.

A statement later issued by the court said a sample of pulmonary fluid taken in the post-mortem would be sent for forensic tests in Barcelona to confirm the exact cause of death.

Mr Kean said papers had been signed to allow the release of the body, but added that it may be two days before it is returned to Ireland.

He said: "There has never been any doubt that Stephen was out and had a few drinks. The suggestion of an eight or nine-hour binge-drinking session was wrong and inappropriate.

"There is no mention of drugs, it's natural causes."

Meanwhile, Boyzone's manager, Louis Walsh, paid an emotional tribute to Gately yesterday, describing him as a "great, great, great professional kid".

Walsh, who put Boyzone together in the mid-1990s, was with Gately and the rest of the band last week in London to discuss the final ten tracks for their comeback album.

He said: "The boys are devastated. It's like they have lost their very, very best friend, and me too. Of all the people I've worked with, I don't think anybody thanked me as much as Stephen."

Brian Ferguson: Fatal heart condition rare in young people

DEATH by acute pulmonary oedema is a combined failure of heart and lung, with the former triggering a build-up of fluid in the latter.

Experts warn it can be common in the over-50s as people suffer inefficient heart pumping, while in younger generations there is often an underlying problem.

Dr Noemi Eiser, honorary medical director of the British Lung Foundation, said: "Generally it's due to a problem with the heart not working well enough and that puts back pressure on the arteries from the heart into the vessels inside the lung," she said.

"It's this back pressure that forces fluid from inside the blood vessels into lung tissue. You can't breathe, it's like drowning. It's very unpleasant breathlessness and will come on very suddenly. Generally, you don't expect to see it very frequently in young people, it's quite rare."

Dr Eiser said the condition has been linked to drugs overdoses.

"With overdoses of heroin or methadone or cocaine you can get it, but I wouldn't like to say that this is the most likely cause in this case," she said.