4 days ago
Transgender 'Soho icon' fell to her death from Westminster bridge 'when she climbed onto the side to urinate' while wearing white Chanel suit, inquest hears
A trans woman who plunged off Westminster Bridge had probably climbed onto the side to urinate, an inquest heard.
Natasha Reddington-Romanov's disappearance sparked dozens of missing person appeals when she vanished after leaving a nightclub last September.
Friends said the 55-year-old hadn't had gender reassignment surgery and was known for peeing when drunk by cocking one leg thanks to her often complicated undergarments.
After dinner with a friend on September 20 last year, she was walking home intoxicated in a white Chanel suit when she needed the loo.
And she made a fatal mistake - lifting one leg over the side of the central London bridge in an attempt to relieve herself and slipping over the edge.
It was theorised by coroner Paul Rogers that she may have plunged so far under the water she was caught by a strong 'riptide' which stopped her from surfacing.
Her body was found a mile upstream by the steps of Vauxhall Bridge at around 11am the following morning, despite intensive searches which started minutes after she was seen to fall.
The inquest at Inner West London Coroner's Court heard that Miss Reddington-Romanov, 55, was born in Dunstable, Beds, as John James Reddington.
She had lived most of her adult life as a woman, with GP notes from 2003 showing she was taking hormones.
She legally changed her name in May 2005 and had a wide circle of friends both in and outside London.
She worked as a facilities manager for affordable housing provider the Guinness Partnership, with colleagues describing her as 'a wonderful woman whose kindness and warmth lit up every room.'
The court heard that on September 20 last year, she went for dinner with the owner of Soho jazz club Trisha's, Patricia Bergonzi.
Friend of 15 years, Vanessa Frank, 48, said that Miss Reddington-Romanov had been so busy at work that she hadn't had a drink for a month and said she wondered whether the alcohol she had consumed that night had affected her particularly strongly.
After her friend's death, Ms Frank viewed CCTV footage showing her near the bridge and said she appeared 'inebriated in a way I hadn't seen her before.'
She remembered a previous occasion where her friend had cocked her leg up to urinate in a doorway when they were on a night out in Soho.
'She didn't undergo gender reassignment surgery,' Ms Frank told the court.
'She literally would lift one leg at a right angle and brace against something and that would allow her to manoeuvre as she wanted to.
'I viewed the video and I was not 100% left without doubt, but my strongest feeling was that she'd done as she normally did and at one point she tried to cock her leg and she lost her footing.'
She said she and all of Miss Reddington-Romanov's friends were truly shocked by what had happened and had seen no sign of depression or worry.
'She was emotionally pragmatic, in a way where she knew life didn't always give you roses,' Ms Frank said.
'She was loved by all who knew her. She was one of the most well-balanced people I knew. If she had a problem she'd meet with friends and vent and talk it through.'
Metropolitan Police officer Sgt James Lewis, of the emergency response unit at Charing Cross, said Miss Reddington-Romanov's fall into the water was witnessed by people who crowded round the spot on Westminster Bridge just after 3am on September 21.
The government's security CCTV control centre was alerted too when the crowd was spotted peering into the darkened waters by operators.
Sgt Lewis said officers were on scene by 3.28am, two marine units were ordered as well as a police helicopter which was later stood down.
'Natasha couldn't be seen,' he said.
'It was a fast-moving tide.'
He said the body of a man dressed in women's clothing resurfaced eight hours later and attempts to identify the individual began.
Meanwhile Miss Reddington-Romanov was reported missing when she didn't turn up for work as usual that Tuesday.
A huge search operation which included appeals went out, explaining that she had last been seen between Greek Street and Bateman Street in Soho at around 2am as she headed to her home south of the river in Southwark.
Sgt Lewis recovered CCTV footage of what happened from several angles but it was jumpy and didn't cover the exact moment the 55-year-old fell.
'She put her handbag on the ground and she reached over, she climbed over the bridge,' he added.
'Unfortunately the footage itself was jumpy.
'All you can see is Natasha climbing onto the side of the bridge and all of a sudden she wasn't there.'
Coroner Mr Rogers said the 'critical nanomoments' were missing, adding: 'It doesn't help me identify whether she jumped or fell.'
However the transwoman wasn't attacked or injured and third party involvement was ruled out, he went on.
A post mortem examination showed that she had bruising to the forehead, most likely from striking a parapet on the way down, and had suffered a heart attack when in the water.
Aside from river water in the lungs and stomach, there were no other injuries and the cause of death was given as drowning.
A toxicology report showed Miss Reddington-Romanov was significantly intoxicated with a blood ethanol reading of 211mg per 100ml of blood. The legal limit for driving is 80mg.
Readings of between 200mg and 300mg per 100ml of blood are consistent with a comatose state, however the coroner said that post mortem redistribution of alcohol occurs, meaning he could not be sure how drunk she had been when she fell.
The 55-year-old was well known in Soho for her vibrant dress sense.
After her death, Trisha's put up a tribute to her on Instagram, saying: 'Our Natasha Reddington-Romanov. Soho icon, showgirl, forever and always in our hearts.
'There will never be another one like you and the streets of Soho forever less glamorous. We love you so very very much.
'It is beyond words to express how much insurmountable gratitude I personally have for everyone who has helped us search for her and showed the outpouring of love and support she deserved.
'Thank you with all my heart.'
Recording a conclusion of accidental death, Mr Rogers said: 'Natasha enjoyed her life and cared for others. She had many friends and was valued in her working life.
'She was not known as someone who was depressed or struggled with life. She had been out for dinner with a friend that night and the friend also saw nothing out of the ordinary.
'Natasha was walking back in the early hours, she was unsteady and walking more slowly than usual. She stopped and lifted her leg over the parapet and then she was gone.
'Ms Frank described a previous occasion when Natasha had lifted her leg in a similar way wearing undergarments which made it more difficult with her male genitalia.
'She said she saw that same movement on the CCTV. Natasha was significantly intoxicated when she entered the river. She sometimes performed this awkward manouvre to urinate when drunk.
