The Metropolitan Police have confirmed Heklina’s cause of death as acute mixed drug toxicity. The finding comes over three years after the American drag legend’s body was found in a residential property in London’s Soho Square on April 3, 2023.

55-year-old Heklina, also known as Steven Grygelko, was discovered dead by collaborator and friend Peaches Christ, who she was touring with at the time. The pair were working on their show Mommie Queerest, a parody of the 1981 cult film Mommie Dearest, which was slated for a two-week run in the Soho Theatre from April 12 to 29.

According to The Guardian, Peaches found Heklina “on the floor, in drag, in a very unusual position”. At the time, the performer described the incident as “a real-life nightmare”, adding “Heklina is not just my best friend, but a beloved icon of our community.”

Toxicology reports revealed that there were potentially fatal levels of GHB and methamphetamine in Heklina’s system, drugs that are often associated with chemsex. However, an official cause of death was not confirmed.

CCTV footage later revealed that three men were at the flat in the early hours of the morning that she died, prompting an appeal for information from police in January 2025. In the time since, no one has been identified and no charges have been brought.

Now, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, authorities have confirmed that an inquest found cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, GHB and ketamine in Heklina’s body, which are said to have been “consumed voluntarily over 48 hours”. This officially closes the investigation after three and a half years.

While the case was still ongoing, many of Heklina’s friends and fellow performers publicly called for answers. In 2025, a group of over 100 people, including Peaches Christ, Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic and several RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni, gathered outside the Metropolitan Police’s headquarters to protest their handling of the investigation.

In her criticism, Canadian-British drag artist Crystal referenced the 2023 Casey Review, which concluded that the Met is filled with “institutional, racism, sexism and homophobia”. She shared, “[The review] confirmed a lot of my suspicions about how bias shapes our institutions… These are the kinds of outcomes that such bias creates.”

The police force has acknowledged its failings in investigating Heklina’s death. An internal review by the Directorate of Professional Standards found that two officers mishandled the case, which was also passed between four different sets of detectives.