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Peaches Geldof Died of Heroin Overdose: Coroner Rules Socialite’s Cause of Death

Peaches Geldof at Odeon Leicester Square on November 14, 2012
Peaches Geldof died of a heroin overdose, the coroner ruled.

Three months after the untimely death of Peaches Geldof, the socialite's cause of death has been revealed. The TV personality and model passed away on April 7, 2014 at the age of 25, and the coroner ruled on Wednesday, July 24, that it was due to a heroin overdose. 

Pathologist Peter Jerreat said in a inquest held in Kent, England, that Geldof's body showed puncture wounds on the elbows, thumbs, and wrists, and she had heroin levels in the "fatal range" in her system. Her blood stream also held traces of methadone, codeine, and morphine. 

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The daughter of musician Bob Geldof, Peaches was found in her home by her husband, S.C.U.M rocker Thomas Cohen. He went to check on his late wife after he had been unable to reach her while out of town. 

"I found her in the spare bedroom," Cohen said at the inquest, according to The Independent. "We both used it when the kids were sleeping." He reportedly went on to add that Geldof had been in treatment for two years to fight addiction and was taking weekly drug tests, but he now believes she was lying to him about the tests being clean. 

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"By November last year she had ceased to take heroin as a result of the considerable treatment and counseling that she had received," coroner Roger Hatch said, according to the BBC. "This was a significant achievement for her but for reasons we will never know prior to her death she returned to taking heroin."

The BBC reports that the heroin found with Geldof's body was a high-grade "importation quality" drug, reaching a purity of 61 percent, in contrast to the more common 26 percent purity found in street-marketed heroin. The scene also reportedly included 34 medical syringes, alcohol wipes, cotton buds, knotted tights, and burnt spoons. 

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Geldof, whose mother Paula Yates also died of a heroin overdose in September 2000, was the mother to two children with Cohen. After marrying in September 2012, the couple welcomed son Astala in April 2012, and son Phaedra in April 2013. 

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