Friend who found drag artist dead gets apology from Met Police

The Metropolitan Police force has apologised over its investigation into the death of an American drag artist in April 2023.

Steven Grygelko, who performed under the name Heklina, was found dead at a flat in Soho, central London by his friend Joshua Grannell.

Mr Grannell said he was “furious” it had taken almost two years for police to make a public appeal to find three men, who detectives say were at the flat hours before Mr Grygelko was discovered.

In March 2023, a review by Baroness Casey into the force found institutional homophobia, racism and misogyny.

Mr Grygelko, 55, and Mr Grannell had been staying in London preparing to put on a performance of their drag parody show Mommie Queerest at Soho Theatre.

Detectives released CCTV footage last month of three men who may have “vital information” about what happened.

Mr Grannell criticised the police for failing to keep him and Mr Grygelko’s next of kin informed over the investigation.

“When I left London they had assigned me with a family liaison officer.

“They convinced me that we would be updated weekly, that we would be included in the process, that we would be informed of anything.

“I got on that plane, and every email went unanswered for months and months.

“They just completely ignored us.”

Mr Grannell said they had still had not been officially told the cause of Mr Grygelko’s death, which is being treated as unexpected, and accused the Met of dismissing him and his friend as “trash”.

“I hate being the person who incorrectly would cry homophobia, if it’s not homophobia. But they have left me no choice.”

Mr Grannell found his friend’s body when he returned to their flat one morning and told officers he was “certain” that someone else had been there before he arrived.

“The door was not only not locked, but it wasn’t shut all the way.

“I went to put my key in, and the door just opened.”

A Met spokesperson said “a number of enquiries” had been pursued before issuing the CCTV appeal.

Det Ch Supt Christina Jessah said the force appreciated Mr Grygelko’s next of kin “had been frustrated by the pace of the investigation” and lack of updates.

She added: “We apologise and will be taking steps to correct this.”

She said officers were also continuing to speak to London’s LGBT+ community to address wider safety concerns.

The Met has been trying to improve confidence in policing following a number of scandals, including failures in the investigation into the serial killer Stephen Port.

A number of reforms have since been made, including introducing new community liaison officers, but according to research published by the mayor’s office for policing and crime, only 55% of LGBT+ respondents said that they trusted the Met, compared to 73% of those who did not identify as LGBT+.

Mr Grannell, who performs as Peaches Christ, described his friend as a “trailblazer” who had opened the doors for many other drag artists.

“Heklina was maybe one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. She was dark and hilarious and what she didn’t want the world to know was that she was secretly kind.

“Quietly behind the scenes, she was constantly helping people out. But the deal was you couldn’t tell people.”

He said he had been constantly questioning what had happened to his friend.

“The most nightmarish life-changing experience of my life has only been made infinitely worse by the Met Police.”