The Vivienne 'died two days before body found'

Drag artist James Lee Williams, better known as The Vivienne, was found dead in the bath by a neighbour after worried friends had struggled to get in touch, an inquest has heard.

Williams, the first winner of Ru Paul's Drag Race UK in 2019, had likely died at their home in Chorlton-by-Backford, near Chester, just under two days before their body was discovered on 5 January.

Cheshire Coroner's Court in Warrington heard the 32-year-old had privately struggled with addiction to ketamine and had recently relapsed after years of sobriety.

Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish recorded a conclusion of death by misadventure after the court heard Williams had suffered a cardiac arrest brought on by the drug.

Williams, who went by they/them and he/him pronouns, had spoken about their addiction struggles on an episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race - which their father Lee Williams told the court was the first their family had known about it.

However he believed his son had been successful staying sober, and their immediate family were unaware that they had relapsed.

Mr Williams told the court: "He was just an outgoing character full-of-life.

"He just wanted to give people laughs and help them on the way, and I think in a way he achieved that."

Giving evidence at Cheshire Coroner's Court in Warrington, Bobby Musker told the court how he had last spoken to the drag performer on the night of January 3.

Mr Musker fought back tears as he told the court: "Him taking drugs didn't define him as a person because he'd done so much more than that.

"He did so much good, I don't want the public to see him as what happened with his drug use."

Williams had just finished the first leg of a tour performing in a musical stage adaptation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and had a few months off before returning to work, the inquest heard.

The court had heard Williams had last chatted to their father via WhatsApp messages at around 21:30 GMT on 3 January, and Mr Musker on a video call at around 20:22 that evening.

But by the morning of Sunday 5 January, Williams' manager had got in touch with Mr Musker asking if he had heard from the drag artist.

Williams said he knew his friend's "work was his life" and found it strange they had not been responding to their manager.

After being unable to get hold of Williams, Mr Musker called his friend's neighbour Janine Godbold, who had grown close to Williams since they moved to the village about three years earlier and had a key to their front door.

Ms Godbold said she was not initially concerned as there had been bad weather including snowfall, and as a semi-rural area there were regularly problems with phone signal.

In emotional testimony in court, Ms Godbold said her son, Ryan Godbold, drove her the two minutes to Williams's house where they approached the front door.

"I thought something was strange because there was no footprints in the snow", she said.

Ms Godbold said Williams' dog, Panda, also "threw itself" at the front door when they knocked, which was also unusual.

After nobody responded to their knocks, Ms Godbold and her son entered the property and found all the lights were on downstairs.

She found the star's body in the bath of their en-suite, although their face was not submerged under the water.

"He just looked like he was sleeping," she told the court.

"I ran over to him and put my hand under his head because I didn't want his face to go underwater.

"I screamed for Ryan, telling him he needed to call an ambulance and to get some help."

Ms Godbold said she stayed and talked to Williams while her son called an ambulance.

Police officers and paramedics who attended the scene said it was immediately clear Williams had died some time ago.

Cheshire Police officer Det Sgt Thomas Philpott told the inquest that there were no signs of any forced entry, or any disturbance.

He said police search teams found five empty snap bags in the house which looked as they had contained drugs, the inquest heard.

Four of them were in a bathroom bin spaced out evenly "with rubbish between them", which the court heard suggested Williams had not taken them all at once.

• The Vivienne hid ketamine struggle to protect family, sister says
• Generation K: The disturbing rise of ketamine abuse among young people

Mr Musker said he knew his friend was taking ketamine again due to their demeanour on the video call, and the fact they had referenced going to Liverpool where they usually bought the drug.

However he said they did not appear overly intoxicated.

Mr Musker said: "He wasn't talking it constantly, I know that.

"When he was off work, and he was at home alone, he would struggle with his sobriety sometimes."

Ms Devonish said she was satisfied there was no evidence to suggest Williams had intended to take their own life.

"He wasn't taking drugs every day, it was occasional and the focus should be on him because drugs don't define the person he was."

Williams grew up and went to school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales before moving to Liverpool as a teenager, where their love of Vivienne Westwood clothing inspired their drag name.

It was on the circuit in Liverpool's drag scene that they met Mr Musker.

They performed regularly in bars and clubs around what is now known as the city's Pride Quarter before moving to Gran Canaria, a hotspot for drag performers across Europe.

Williams first rose to national prominence when they won the first series of Drag Race UK, and later went on to become the only British drag queen to appear in the American series.

As well as the world of drag, their appearances in London's West End and in TV shows such as Emmerdale, Dancing on Ice and Saturday Night Takeaway saw them become a household name.

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