Questions remain almost 2 years after popular San Francisco drag queen Heklina's death
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — It's been nearly two years since San Francisco drag queen Heklina was found dead in a London apartment. Police said there was no foul play, but her friends are now speaking out about their frustrations with a lack of answers.
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When KRON4 News first spoke to Joshua Grannell in May of 2023, he was planning a giant celebration of life for his friend Heklina.
Grannell, whose stage name is Peaches Christ, was in London with Heklina getting ready to premiere their show 'Mommie Queerest' at the Soho Theatre when he discovered his friend and co-star dead in their London apartment.
It's been nearly two years and Grannell said the lack of transparency from police has reached its breaking point.
'Landed back in San Francisco and would reach out to them for updates,' said Grannell. 'We would be ignored quite frankly. The emails would just go unanswered and if we did get a response, it would be just almost nothing.'
Weeks after the death, Grannell said he was told by the Metropolitan Police in London that there was no foul play suspected but has yet to receive an official cause of death. He said it wasn't until an investigative reporter from The Guardian reached out to police that video evidence was released of three men leaving Heklina's apartment April 3, 2023.
'For us to receive news almost two years later that they've known that three men were in that apartment hours before I found her dead is chilling and terrifying and beyond upsetting,' said Grannell.
Grannell believes homophobia is the likely reason why Scotland Yard hasn't taken Heklina's case seriously and said he has heard of similar experiences from LGBTQ+ friends in the U.K. He said answers only seem to come from police when they learn about the fan following of Heklina and Peaches.
'I did not know that there was this rich horrible history of institutional homophobia within this police force,' said Grannell.
He said he's spent two years in the dark and just wants answers and transparency from police because that's what Heklina's family, friends and fans have been waiting for.
'When people continuously come to me and say, 'just tell me how did she really die?' and I say, 'I don't know,' they don't believe me, and it's been awful,' said Grannell.
Grannell is hoping that local and state politicians will put pressure on the U.S. Embassy in London to ask for answers from police about what happened to Heklina.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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