George won’t be buried until March Family’s agony as probe into star’s death continues
GEORGE Michael’s family may have to wait until next month to bury the singer – three months after he was found dead on Christmas Day.
Police warned it could be “several weeks” before his body is released by the coroner.
The agonising wait is putting an “intolerable” strain on the star’s grieving family, sources close to them claimed.
They said George’s devastated dad Kyriacos Panayiotou had struggled to leave his house since his son’s death.
Greek radio host Vasilis Panayi said: “It’s very hard for all of them, quite intolerable. It’s a shock and terrible for his father. He was looking forward to a happy old age and now all he has is grief.
“He wants to hold the funeral but so far the police are refusing to release the body and are looking for further clues.”
And family friend Demetri Louca said: “George’s body is still with the coroner in Oxfordshire. His family are finding the wait intolerable. His body will be there until they have found the cause of death and apparently it is very nearly finished now. They are planning the funeral with the high priest and will announce the date in time.”
Their heartache comes as George’s lover Fadi Fawaz said he was “horrified” about the release of his 999 call detailing his desperate attempts to revive the singer.
In it he told the ambulance call handler: “He’s gone. He’s blue. He’s dead.”
The four-and-a-half minute call was made by Fadi after he found the singer dead in his bed aged 53. In the recording Fadi is unable to quickly give George’s full postcode and admits he is “shaking”. The handler then asks where the body is and Fadi replies: “He’s in
bed. Dead. He’s cold and he’s blue... yes, he’s very stiff. He’s dead... he’s dead.”
Asked by the operator if the singer is “beyond help”, Fadi reveals he has spent an hour trying to revive him.
The operator goes on to ask if George’s death was “expected”. Fadi replies: “No, no, no, no, no, no, I’ve been waiting for him to wake him up for hours and he wouldn’t wake up, I went to wake him up and he was gone, you know, he’s not there.”
He adds: “It’s George Michael, you know, the singer?” He then wrongly gives George’s date of birth as July 25 instead of June 25.
Yesterday Fadi, who was pictured leaving his house in south-west London, said: “It’s horrifying. What’s going on?”
A pal said: “Fadi’s heartbroken he’s having to re-live the morning he discovered George with the release of this tape.
“He’s finding it hard enough to grieve and now he is having to relive that harrowing call over and over again.”
Painful
Fadi, a fine art photographer, has been told he is no longer part of a police probe into the singer’s death in Goring, Oxon.
A friend of George’s family, Kyriakos Pourikou, said of the leaked call: “It is shocking. Of course it’s not nice for us and the rest of the family.”
A statement issued by solicitors for the family said: “George’s family and friends are extremely upset and truly appalled that such a personal, painful and clearly confidential recording has been leaked. On their behalf we will be ensuring a full investigation takes place to establish how this material was made available and we will expect the culprit(s) to be dealt with appropriately.”
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Trust has been informed about the release of the tape of a 999 call. We take matters of confidentiality very seriously and have launched an immediate investigation.” The Trust is helping police with their investigation into the leak.