Keeley McKenzie died just after midnight on May 27, 2021. She was discovered lying in a walkway in Moss Side only minutes earlier.
Two years on, her family still don’t know how she died. What’s certain is that Keeley, 32, fell over in the cut-through between Moss Lane East and Caston Close.
That fall, a coroner ruled on Friday (June 9), caused her to haemorrhage blood. Tragically, that meant her heart could not cope and she passed away.
But no one knows why Keeley fell over.
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An inquest into her death, presided over by coroner Andrew Bridgman, returned an open verdict on Friday. It means her family may never know the truth about what happened on the evening of May 26, 2021.
Keeley was born with a series of heart problems, which were so severe that she had the last rites read to her as an infant, a statement from her older brother said. She survived the initial scare, and went on to have 35 surgical procedures on her heart, he added.
The effects of her cardiac illness meant Keeley suffered three strokes in her life, but recovered from each. She also could struggle with walking, becoming breathless.
Crucially, it also meant she had osteoporosis, a condition which weakens the bones. A post-mortem examination found the 1A cause of death was haemothorax, with 1B being right fourth rib fracture, and underlying factors named as heart disease, needing warfarin, and causing osteoporosis.
Keeley had been shielding for several months, due to Covid-19, in the months leading up to May 26. That evening, she was walking around Moss Side, delivering leaflets for her perfume business. At 10:06pm, she was seen on a CCTV camera walking down the cut-through, and three minutes later, a doorbell camera at a house on a nearby cul-de-sac spotted her posting the promotional material through the door.
Over an hour later, at 11:58pm, a passerby can be seen heading into the snicket, remaining there for 35 seconds, and then coming out. He flagged down a car to contact the emergency services, according to Mr Bridgman.
Paramedics then arrived at 12:06am, the coroner continued, and carried out ‘CPR for 40 minutes, but ceased without success at 12:41am. GMP attended at 12:37am’. Police then searched the area, and found something which suggested her collapse might not have just been the result of an accident, or natural causes.
The ‘enigma’, the school, and the two phones
“The big question of this inquest is how did it come about that Keeley fell to the ground?,” coroner Bridgman said in his summary, explaining the reasons why he returned an open verdict.
“Clearly the first thing to consider is that she tripped. It was clear and the ground was not uneven, but it’s a possibility. The other possibility is that her heart was liable to giving up at any time, even at rest and create a cardiac dysrhythmia meaning it would not beat properly and cause her to faint.
“The enigma is that her phone is missing and has never been found.”
Mr Bridgman continued: “There are two possible explanations for that. First is, it was taken after she collapsed, but unfortunately we only have CCTV from one end. The first person we can see from the end we can see is the one who alerts the emergency services.
“This would be an opportunistic theft from someone in need of medical help. The other possibility is that it’s taken from her and in the process, she fell to the ground.”
That would require an assault or robbery, the coroner identified. But pathologist Prof Lumb could not find any injuries associated with sharp instruments, or a heavy hit to Keeley — only injuries sustained by impacting a broad surface, like the pavement.
Lending credence to the theory that Keeley’s phone was stolen is the fact that police have never been able to recover it, and the last time it was picked up on ‘Find My iPhone’ tracking was at 7:13am, in primary school fields 20 minutes’ walk away.
DI Dan Hadfield, the lead officer investigating, said that at that time, the phone was online for about five minutes, but has never been tracked since. Under questioning from the family, DI Hadfield also confirmed CCTV appeared to show the man who discovered Keeley’s body actually had two phones on his person at the time.
“He walks into [the cut-through] with one [phone] in his left and one in his right hand,” the DI said on reviewing the CCTV. “He presents two phones [to police at a later date]. He said he did not have a phone because he did not want the police to know he has a phone.”
The man was arrested ‘a month later’, DI Hadfield said, but was never charged. Extensive searches of his mother’s home, and address he was staying at, could not locate Keeley’s mobile.
However, this man’s own phone was ‘a long way from the location’ where Keeley’s phone was last picked up on Find My iPhone, at the same time. “The evidence suggests, based on Prof Lumb’s evidence, Keeley had not been assaulted,” DI Hadfield told the court, further casting doubt over the notion the man stole her device.
The open verdict
Coroner Bridgman said that, if the phone ‘enigma’ was not a feature of the case, he had two options in determining Keeley’s cause of death — an accident, i.e. tripping over, or natural causes, aka a cardiac dysrhythmia. He was leaning towards the ‘marginal choice’ of a medical event being the reason why Keeley fell, and haemorrhaged, he explained.
“Something happened to Keeley and on the balance of probabilities, [it happened] at 10:09pm,” he concluded. “What evidence do I have that there was an assault? The phone is missing.
“[However], the injuries that Keeley suffered are consistent with a fall. GMP carried out an extensive investigation to find the phone. They have proved fruitless.
“Unlawful killing remains a possibility because GMP have been unable to rule it out. It’s very unfortunate that I cannot decide on those, on the balance of probabilities.
“I have to return an open verdict. It leaves you with unanswered questions.”
The formal conclusion of the inquest was: “The injury causing her death results from a fall. How she came by that fall cannot be determined from the evidence. Sadly, the verdict must be open.”
For her family, questions remain unanswered — but as they told the court, they had a ‘lovely’ sister and daughter.
“[Keeley] was a lovely, bubbly person,” a statement from the family said. “Despite what she went through, she never complained.
“She was very caring and supportive and was always the one asking others if they needed her help. She had great integrity, and was well-spoken and well-mannered.”
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