On 31 March over a hundred people marched from Big Ben down the road to New Scotland Yard to call for Justice for Heklina, the drag artist who was found dead at a flat in Soho on 3 April 2023. Heklina, born Stephen Grygelko, had been performing in a show at Soho Theatre during that time.
The march was in protest at the Metropolitan Police’s handling of Heklina’s case and homophobic bias in the force. Earlier this year, the Met had apologised for its failings in the investigation into Heklina’s death.
The march was organised by friends of Heklina including drag artists and members of the LGBT+ community and was supported by Equity.
Speakers at the protest included drag artists Peaches Christ, Cheddar Gorgeous, Crystal, Chiyo, Afrika America, and Trixie Carr. Speaking alongside them was Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming, singer and Scissor Sisters member Ana Matronic, the LGBT+ and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, and London Assembly Member for the Green Party Zoe Garbett.
Investigation marred by delays, lack of communication and change of personnel
Heklina’s friends report that the investigation has been marred by constant delays, a lack of communication and multiple changes of personnel. Two years later, the investigation remains open and it took until January this year for police to release CCTV footage of three men they want to speak to in connection to the case.
On Friday, Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming wrote to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, calling on him to “raise as a matter of urgency the investigation into Heklina’s death in your meetings with senior officers in the Met, and ask what is being done to remedy the litany of failings in this investigation.”
“As you know, this investigation came at a time when Baroness Casey’s landmark report into the Metropolitan Policy found the force to be institutionally homophobic,” writes Paul W Fleming in the letter. “It is hard not to conclude that such homophobia has affected the Met’s investigation in this case… More broadly, Equity’s drag and variety members are facing increasingly inhospitable working conditions in London, largely due to the rapid decline of small venues, rising homophobic and transphobic violence and low levels of trust in the Met.”
Peaches Christ said:
“Heklina was one of my oldest and closest friends. We were family and finding her dead in London was truly traumatising, but it has only been made worse by the complete lack of attention from the London Met Police. For nearly two years, myself and Heklina's next of kin have been ignored. Only when I went to the media was there a response. Queer people deserve to be treated fairly and equally and we demand change.”
Cheddar Gorgeous said:
“The continued insensitive and incompetent handling of Heklina's death by the Metropolitan Police is a stark reminder of the way assumptions, born of prejudice, continue to cloud police inquiry in the UK. The way that we dress, how we identify or details of our personal lives, should never be allowed to determine the quality of protection provided by the police. A life, regardless of how it is lived, holds inherent value; loss warrants equal care, compassion and thorough investigation. To suggest otherwise is not just misconduct, but a dangerous failure that places multiple communities at risk.”
Crystal said:
“Heklina was one of the first people to give me an international booking, in San Francisco, long before Drag Race, and I've remained a huge admirer. I'm horrified to learn from Peaches about the huge failures of the Met Police in the investigation and communication surrounding her death. I’m unfortunately no stranger to the justice system, and marginalised communities know first-hand the bias that can be found within the police force – we demand answers, we demand justice and we demand better."
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