Inquest hears Bibey attacked partner before being found dead in hotel room
Former British rugby league player Ricky Bibey was found dead in Italy after allegedly beating up his girlfriend while high.
The 40-year-old athlete wasfound dead in the £350-a-night Hotel Continentale on July 16, 2022.
He had arrived in Tuscany with a woman – later revealed to be his partner – fromManchestera day earlier.
Italian publication Il Gazzettino reported that the couple arrived at the hotel on Friday, July 15, before heading out in the evening, returning to the swish four-star hotel in “high spirits” at around 2am.
Hotel staff were alerted by shouting and screaming in the room just before 8am local time, according to Corriere Della Sera.
Ricky’s body was discovered on the hotel room floor.
His on-and-off again partner estate agent Jennie Platt has told an inquest she “fought back” during a violent struggle with the athlete.
She passed out after he came at her with “glazed eyes” looking “like a demon”, the inquest heard.
Jennie said she saw him taking cocaine in the bathroom and had confronted him.
She suffered from external wounds including to her neck, and was rushed to Florence’s Careggi hospital where she underwent surgery for a haemorrhage.
Both cops and the coroner concluded her injuries were “not compatible with her being responsible for any act of violence”.
A post-mortem ruled the rugby player died of a “neck compression”, which evidence showed he inflicted on himself.
But the inquest hasn’t established whether he intended to take his own life.
He had struggled with mental health problems and drug addiction after his retirement from the sport.
Ricky, who was born in Leigh near Wigan, Greater Manchester, made his professional rugby league debut in 2001 for Wigan Warriors, also making appearances for Leigh Centurions, St Helens and Wakefield Trinity.
He won the Challenge Cup twice and also played on three occasions for England in international competitions, before being forced to retire early in May 2012 due to an achilles tendon injury.
The prop Ricky, who lived in an £800,000 home in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, had been running a window cleaning business and property venture since retiring.
Hotel Continentale is just 30 yards from the famous Ponte Vecchio close to the heart of the historic Renaissance city.
Travel guides describe the plush riverside hostelry as “playfully chic” boasting its own rooftop bar and spa aimed at “honeymooners and those looking for a romantic weekend”.
Leigh Centurions paid tribute to the player on X, saying the “popular” player had died “while on holiday in Italy”.
Technology & Business Editor
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
