Kerry Katona’s ex husband George Kay collapsed and died following a dangerous cocaine binge, an inquest has heard.
George, 39, was staying at a Holiday Inn hotel in Sutton Weaver, Cheshire, when he collapsed and died.
The former pro rugby player – who was with Kerry for three years – reportedly suffered a fatal seizure after using excessive amounts of the Class A drug.
During the inquest in Warrington, a worker from the hotel claimed they saw George pull a large ball of “white powder” from a sock in his pants.
He then proceeded to eat it. When he collapsed an ambulance was called and he was rushed to hospital – but his life could not be saved.
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It was claimed that it wasn’t clear just how much of the toxic substance was in his body.
The day prior to his collapse police were called after hotel staff reported seeing four large “pinches” on the bathroom sink in his room or half a tea-spoon full.
But things took a turn for the worse when the staff member saw him “produce a large white ball of powder” from his sock and subsequently ingest it.
Luke Smith said: “He took the ball out of the sock and started to eat it.”
The coroner added that Mr Smith had previously told a police watchdog investigation: “It was a large white ball shape, he believed it was drugs.”
The coroner also stated that George had left his room the previous night – possibly to buy more drugs.
George Kay’s final day
On July 5, 2019 the events that led to George’s death began to unfold. He was seen acting strangely, knocking on other guests’ doors at the hotel.
The police were called and attended the scene at 9.54pm, however, they left when George – who was divorced from Kerry Katona at the time – said he would return to his room.
Bar man Michael Hulme said: ”Mr Kay was behaving in an erratic manner and the manager was present encouraging him to go back to his room.
“He was not a threat but he was unpredictable. He asked for cocaine and was told he couldn’t have it.
“He said he was at the hotel for a family function, but we knew this wasn’t true. George kept saying he wanted someone to be his friend.
“We got him to his room and there was around 1/2 teaspoon of white powder in the bathroom. He had calmed down by now and seemed okay and asked for a pizza.
Drug abuse
Cheshire Police later confirmed that high purity cocaine worth £100 was found in the room.
PC Declan Corcoran said: ”The hotel staff were concerned about a male wandering around and banging on doors refusing to go back to his room.
”When we got there, he was quite calm, he understood that he had been taking drugs, he said he had taken the substance in the bathroom about one hour ago.
“He said he was struggling with his mental health because of issues in his personal life. George admitted to taking cocaine that evening.”
Kerry Katona relationship woes
Earlier in the inquest, a family member claimed George developed a more significant drug habit during his marriage to Kerry.
They said: “The drug-taking increased during his time with his wife (Kerry). And it got significantly worse when he was stopped from seeing his child.”
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Kerry and George had known each other as teens. They only started dating in 2012 after a chance meeting brought them back into each other’s lives.
The pair had a daughter together, Dylan-Jorge, now seven years old, and wed five months later in September 2014. George was also step-dad to Kerry’s four other children.
ED! contacted Kerry’s reps who declined to comment.