Almost two years have passed since news broke that one of the world’s most famous drag queens had passed away, yet major questions about what happened to her remain unanswered.
Heklina (Steven Grygelko), was found dead by close friend Peaches Christ on 3 April 2023 at the flat the two of them were renting in Soho, London – though a cause of death is yet to be confirmed, and the Met Police took until January 2025 to release CCTV of potential suspects.
At a protest held outside New Scotland Yard in Westminster on 31 March, Heklina’s loved ones turned out in droves to demand justice for the star, and express their anger at the pace of the Met’s investigation.
Speaking to Gay Star News at the rally, Christ says she “went through all the normal protocols” in reporting Heklina’s death to officers.
“I was well taken care of by the Met Police and assured that they would attend to, you know, everything,” she explains.
“And, after I left, sadly, they attended to nothing.”
In the almost two years since, Christ says there have been “very few interactions” with the Met, and many of her calls and emails remained unanswered – until she turned to the media to help raise awareness about what was going on.
“That disgusts and infuriates me,” she continues.
“I feel guilty in some ways that I’m a drag queen of privilege because I have a platform, and I think because I do shows at the Royal Albert Hall and know the editor of The Guardian, there’s movement happening.
“So this rally isn’t just for Heklina, it’s for all the people who don’t have those connections and all the minorities and all the queer people who’ve had to roll over and just take it because they couldn’t go to the media, or because the media wouldn’t listen to them.”
Trixxie Carr, a drag queen who flew over from San Francisco in order to take part in the protest, says it was “important” to honour her friend and fight for systemic change.
“She deserved better, the people who love her deserve better, so we’re here to say that,” she shares, adding: “That this has happened before with other people who have passed away and their deaths haven’t been looked into or investigated in a proper way, is just unacceptable.”
That sentiment is echoed by Drag Race UK stars Crystal and Cheddar Gorgeous, who both share their concerns that the Met is yet to learn the lessons from how it responded to the Stephen Port murders a decade ago.
From June 2014 to September 2015, Port murdered at least four men – Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25 – before being arrested in October 2015.
The case damaged the relationship between the Met and London’s LGBTQ+ community, particularly because detectives failed to link the fatalities despite the striking similarities between them, such as the bodies of three of the four known victims being discovered at the same graveyard in Barking.
In April 2023 (the same month Heklina died), a report was published which warned that these failures “could happen again” as the Met had not yet learned enough from the failures in the case to avoid them in future.
“I have hope that change can be achieved, but at the moment I just feel like it’s that same old voice that says, ‘Just another dead queer,’” Gorgeous says.
“And I don’t want that to be the truth. I want to believe that if my body was found, that they would be able to look past whatever I was wearing, whatever I was doing, and just see a human being that deserved that full attention. At the moment, I don’t feel that.”
Crystal shares these concerns: “Certainly, if I needed them in a scenario where I was in drag, or if the nightlife economy was involved, would I be taken seriously? I have no faith that I would. When you’ve got an institution that’s been found to be institutionally homophobic, how are you supposed to turn to them for help?”
Just a month before the aforementioned report’s release, the Casey Review said the Met is in need of a “complete overhaul” due to being institutionally homophobic, racist and sexist.
“There is deep seated homophobia within the Met, as shown by the fact that almost one in five lesbian, gay and bisexual Met employees have personally experienced homophobia and 30% of LGBTQ+ employees have said they had been bullied,” part of the 363-page report said. “Trust, confidence and fairness scores among LGBTQ+ Londoners have fallen significantly.”
Scissor Sisters star Ana Matronic, who met Heklina just a few days after moving to San Francisco decades ago, tells Gay Star News that her friend “deserves respect” – but highlights that the issue at the heart of the protest goes far beyond this one case.
“It’s not just because she was somebody to so many people,” she says. “Every single person deserves this respect, and that is why we’re here, is because we know that Heklina is one of many, one of many, people for whom Scotland Yard has dropped the ball on their investigation.”
Among the calls to action listed by protesters are the release of the coroner’s report, an apology to Heklina’s friends and family for how the case has been handled, as well as an investigation into whether or not homophobia impacted how officers did or did not look into what happened.
In a statement shared with Gay Star News, Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah, who leads policing in the local area, said: “We know that many feel deep distress following Steven’s death and some feel frustration with the pace of the police investigation.
“We are also aware of the concerns of Steven’s next of kin and have apologised to them directly.
“A full review of the investigation is ongoing to establish any missed opportunities. We continue to examine all lines of enquiry in relation to Steven’s death and remain steadfast in our determination to establish the facts.”
Heklina’s friends each share concern that they may never know the truth about what happened to their friend, though none of them are letting the events of the last two years change how they remember her.
“I have a Heklina ringtone on my phone so I get to hear her cackle often,” Carr says.
“And it’s really well-timed, people do things, and then suddenly my phone rings and we hear [her laugh].
“I remember her laugh. I remember her wit. I remember she was always a cynic, and yet had an optimism about life and opportunities. And I don’t think that you create a legacy like hers without being hopeful that things can change.
“She changed drag. She changed my life. She changed a lot of people’s lives and our communities for the better. She brought so many people together, and made such a difference in San Francisco and then across the world.”
Christ shares that she knew Heklina since 1996, and the two formed an instant bond that resulted in them working together over the years as well as being friends: “We were true family. She had her own relationship with my mother. She and my mother were very, very close. They actually spent holidays together. My family has gone on many vacations with Heklina.
“When I say she was a family member, it was even beyond chosen family. Literally, my parents adored Heklina, and she had her own relationship with my husband. She was a member of our family.”
Matronic says the memories she always comes back to are of the two of them sitting in Heklina’s flat when they lived in the same apartment building.
“Smoking cigarettes out the window and laughing and talking about everything from our favourite Suzy song to our favourite member of the Manson family,” she laughs.
“She was a very dark and very amazing person, and she was somebody whose day to day interactions are what I will treasure the most. And she always made time for me, and that was such a gift.”
