A drag queen’s body was found under a pile of cardboard boxes in an alleyway in the centre of Cardiff – and an inquest has heard the performer died under troubling circumstances
Once a glitzy performer taking to the stage in a blonde wig and immaculate make-up, this drag queen’s final moments were world’s away from the spotlight.
Darren Meah-Moore, 39, was found dead in a lane in the centre of Cardiff. The married drag queen, who performed under the names Crystal Couture and CC Quinn, was last seen glammed up in full drag leaving Pulse nightclub in the heart of the city
Meah-Moore once lived the high life and even featured on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but an inquest has heard that beneath the alter-ego, there was a much darker world. The perfomer, who was a registered sex offender, had met a man with a dog in the early hours of the night, and proceeded to have sex with both.
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CCTV footage shows that Meah-Moore had sexual encounters with two other men that night, reappearing on camera multiple times during the encounters. However the performer fails to appear after a third encounter with a man, who later told the court his dog was involved in a sexual encounter with the drag queen.
An inquest heard that the man, who remains anonymous for legal reasons, said he went to a secluded car park with Meah-Moore and began to have sexual activity with him.
“Because it was consensual and desired I let him do what he was asked to do. I had never seen something like that before. I could have stopped it and I should have stopped it but I didn’t,” the man said.
The dog owner said he “lost interest” when Meah-Moore continued to allow the pet to have sex with him. After the encounter, he said Meah-Moore fell asleep and could not be woken up.
The inquest was told tests found “human and non-human” semen inside his body and DNA matched the man’s dog. Pathologists ultimately found the death was not “traumatic”.
Tests have since been carried out to see if Meah-Moore was allergic to dogs, with Coroner David Regan saying a pathologist had theorised the drag queen’s sudden death may have arisen “from the dog semen”.
He said: “The pathologist made a suggestion that there might be some pathological relation with sudden death potentially arising from the dog semen?” Detective Superintendent Paul Raikes replied: “I think it is accepted Darren did have a sensitivity to dogs but it wasn’t able to provide a cause of death and attribute it to that.”
The court heard the original medical cause of death was given as 1a: sudden death in a man with bronchial asthma who had consumed alcohol and in a temporal association with sexual activity including anal intercourse.
The dog’s owner was later arrested on suspicion of manslaughter but later released without charge. Meah-Moore was reported missing by his husband the following morning – and a worker at the club said she saw him enter a nearby car park. Nightclub manager Sean Rogers was told of his disappearance and went to check the car park and could see part of his dress from the previous night.
Mr Rogers said when he got out of his car he found Meah-Moore’s body covered with flattened out cardboard boxes which had “definitely been placed on top of him”. He said the boxes were “covering a large part of his body” and said he tried to rouse Meah-Moore. When he got no response, he phoned the emergency services.
He performed CPR until paramedics took over but Meah-Moore was pronounced dead at the scene. The inquest heard tributes from Meah-Moore’s father and husband who described him as “caring” and “right at the heart of Cardiff’s gay community”. He was also described as talented gymnast, who ran a jewellery company called Bling Bling Bling UK.
A tribute from Darren’s family said: “Darren Moore was a loving husband, son, brother, uncle and friend. He was always the life and soul where ever he went, he was our social butterfly. He made sure he had a lot of time for people, and never judged others.
“Darren’s husband and family want to thank everyone for their support but now need time to grieve and respectfully request privacy at this time.” Meah-Moore was jailed in March 1999 after being convicted of four counts of rape of a boy under 16. In 2011, he was also sentenced to a three-year community order and given 300 hours of unpaid work for breaching of a sex offender’s order.
The Pontypridd inquest, due to last four days, continues.