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.”

They said it had been wrongly reported that Ms French had been binge-drinking the night she took fatally ill at Ducie’s Co Meath home when the medical evidence showed she had consumed less than half a glass of wine.

They also said it had been reported that she took a cocktail of drugs before her death, implying illegal substances, when all that was found in her system was a trace of cocaine along with a prescribed antibiotic, an over-the-counter cough medicine, and contraceptives.

They said she was friends with Corcoran but not Ducie, whom they described as an “acquaintance”, and they said she had been unfairly linked with criminal figures because her picture was often used in articles about crime and criminals that had nothing to do with her.

They were also critical of the way Katy’s admission that she had previously taken cocaine had been handled, saying it was a courageous move that was treated with disrespect. Such reporting had caused them deep hurt, they said, and in no way reflected Ms French’s kindness and how vulnerable it sometimes left her.

“Katy was trusting and found herself having to deal at almost every turn with so-called friends who often tried to do her down or stand in her way,” they said.

“She was let down by those who pretended to be her friend whilst harbouring feelings of envy and begrudgery. This did cause her considerable stress and sadness, yet she showed strength of character in her ability to turn her life around through dedication and hard work.

“Katy may have had a high-profile for some time but that in itself does not give the press the freedom to disgracefully and improperly publicise the circumstances surrounding her death.”