A mum and dad have spoken out about their fight for answers over the death of their daughter in Pakistan and the disappearance of their grandchildren.
Judy and Sean Devlin last saw their daughter, Kelsey, in 2021 when she flew to Islamabad with her children Zara and Zain after she was told her Pakistani mother-in-law was dying. Three weeks after travelling to the country, Kelsey, from Burnley but living in Wirral at the time, was dead in hospital after she fell ill the day after she arrived at her ex-partner's home.
The single mum was buried before her parents had even been told about the death. Heartbroken Judy and Sean have since had no contact with their grandchildren and have no idea where they are.
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Following the death, they were eventually sent a picture of the death certificate for their 27-year-old daughter but claim it has "huge inconsistencies", with questions still remaining over how she died. They are now fighting to have her body exhumed and their grandchildren returned to the UK, despite communication with Kelsey's ex going cold, the Mirror reports.
Holding back his tears, Sean, 55, from Burnley, said: "I’ve lost my little girl and I don’t even know where she is buried. That is barbaric. There are so many unanswered questions about how she died – we just want to bring her home."
Judy added: "No official person came to tell us Kelsey had died. Nobody offered us help. We were devastated.
"We had to have a funeral here without a body. We just want to bring her home and give her a Christian burial. And we want answers about her death."
Kelsey had flown out to Islamabad on June 3, 2021, with Zara and Zain, now 10 and eight years old respectively, to see her ex-partner's mum who was believed to have been dying. Her ex didn't travel with them but the day after arriving at the Pakistan capital she phoned her mum to tell her she was unwell.
The next day she sent her a message to say she was in hospital. Mum-of-10 Judy, 49, said: "We kept ringing the hospital but couldn’t get to speak to her. We were told she had covid, then sepsis, then she was in a coma."
Kelsey was moved to another hospital on June 15 and the family finally managed to see her via a video message. She told them she couldn’t wait to get home but felt like her insides were "burning".
Sean said: "I was ringing the British Embassy every day desperate for news – we were so worried we couldn’t sleep. Eventually, someone from the Embassy said they would go and visit Kelsey, but they never did."
Kelsey's sister Chloe was shocked when she received a message from Kelsey's ex on July 1 saying her sister had died in the night. After that, Kelsey's daughter Zara phoned her aunt.
Chloe, 25, said: "Zara said mum had passed away and that is all we heard. We haven’t had any contact with the children since. It’s absolutely crushing."
After months of asking for the death certificate, Kelsey's heartbroken parents were sent a photo of the certificate which had the logo of the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, 12 miles south of Islamabad. The certificate gave the cause of death for the previously healthy Kelsey as sepsis, a stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest.
But it got her age wrong and stated she had been an epileptic from birth – which her family say is not true. It also showed she was married and had converted to Islam, which the family denies, as reported by the ECHO in 2021.
Sean said: “Kelsey had never been ill in her life. She played football semi-professionally. She had never had epilepsy." Not knowing where to turn, the couple enlisted the help of local vicar Father Alex Frost, who has been asking the police and Government questions on their behalf.
Both the Foreign Office and Lancashire Police told him Kelsey’s death was the responsibility of Pakistani officials. He said: "Sometimes I feel we have been banging our head against a brick wall. When I first rang the Foreign Office to report her death, they told me to do it on an online portal, like reporting a missing dog.
"I was furious. It would be my dream to get Sean to Pakistan so he could finally get the answers the family deserves about Kelsey and bring her home."
Judy said: “No official person came to tell us she had died. Nobody offered us any help. We were devastated. We just want to bring her home."
In October the grieving family held a funeral ceremony without a coffin. Hundreds attended. After an appeal from Father Alex, Burnley’s Tory MP Antony Higginbotham joined forces with Labour’s Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, to lobby the Government to intervene in the case.
They called for Kelsey’s body to be exhumed "for the purpose of a full autopsy and repatriation to the UK, and the children to be returned to the UK to their grandparents".
Mr Higginbotham said: "The key to answers lies with authorities in Pakistan. Having raised this with Foreign Office, the Pakistan High Commission, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan at the time of Kelsey’s death, I continue to urge the government in Islamabad to open an independent investigation."
The Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British national who sadly died in Pakistan." Lancashire Police said it was a matter for the Pakistani authorities. Meanwhile, the family are haunted by thoughts of how Zara and Zain are coping without their mum.
Chloe said: "Kelsey was the best mum - she was with the kids all the time, they must be lost without her. Her favourite thing was to take them to the park and one of the local inflatable playgrounds.
"We all loved spending time together as one big family. I used to stay over at Kelsey’s all the time.” Sean added: “Kelsey’s life matters, and I just feel like because we are a family off an estate in Burnley, no one is interested. We have not only lost our daughter but also two grandkids. We don’t even know where they live or go to school."
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