Katy ‘let down by those who pretended to be her friend’

Katy French was never friends with Kieron Ducie and had no connections with the criminal world, her family insisted as Ducie and his ex-girlfriend, Ann Corcoran, received suspended sentences for drugs offences.

These were just some of the misperceptions they said they wanted to dispel now that the court case was over and they were free to speak.

In a statement detailing their anguish over Ms French’s death and subsequent publicity, they said: “For five years, we, Katy’s family and loved ones, have had to bear the inhuman torment of being restricted in our defence of Katy. In the small hope of justice, and due to the impending criminal charges, we had to remain silent whilst someone we loved and lost was being so publicly and unjustly disgraced.”