London's Metropolitan Police investigated the death of San Francisco drag icon Heklina, leaving her chosen family in limbo and sparking accusations of homophobic police negligence on two continents. The performer, born Steven Grygelko, was found dead in April 2023 in a London flat at age 55.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, toxicology results showed cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamines, GHB and ketamine in Heklina's system, which police determined were consumed consensually over 48 hours. Investigators said they found no evidence of third-party involvement or a suspicious death. Heklina had been in London with fellow performer Peaches Christ for a run of Mommie Queerest at the Soho Theatre, and it was Peaches Christ who found her dead in the living room of their shared flat, per the same account.
The interim listing brought little closure to a case that remained officially undetermined for years — London's coroner's office had listed the cause of death as “undetermined” in an interim document issued in April 2023, as Mission Local has reported. During that time, the Chronicle's report notes, the case was passed down through four different sets of detectives.
Friends Accuse Police of Bias and Delay
Heklina's estate executor Nancy French and Peaches Christ have said police told them Heklina had a lethal amount of drugs in her system, according to the Chronicle's reporting, but they have also voiced lingering doubts about what happened inside the apartment. Friends of Heklina have accused police more broadly of negligence and homophobic bias throughout the investigation.
That frustration reached a head in January 2025, when London police released footage of three men who had been at Heklina's flat — footage that, as the SF Standard reported, had been withheld for 21 months before its public release. The delay became a flashpoint for critics who said the department had failed to move with urgency on an LGBTQ community member's death.
The Directorate of Professional Standards later concluded that two officers mishandled Heklina's case, and the Metropolitan Police apologized to Heklina's next of kin. Christina Jessah said a full review would establish whether there were missed opportunities.
Protests Linked the Case to Wider Police Reform Fights
Peaches Christ organized a protest through central London to police headquarters on March 31, 2025, drawing more than 100 supporters — including Scissor Sisters singer Ana Matronic and former RuPaul's Drag Race stars Cheddar Gorgeous and Crystal — to New Scotland Yard, as detailed by The Guardian. San Francisco drag performers held a simultaneous demonstration that same day, staging a “Justice 4 Heklina” tribute show at The Stud before marching to Oasis, according to Mission Local — a route that traced the two venues central to Heklina's local legacy.
The Stephen Port murder inquiry examined police failures in investigating the deaths of four gay men, according to the Greater London Authority. The case also drew attention to calls for official action that March. The push drew heavily on a March 2023 official report by Baroness Louise Casey, commissioned by the Metropolitan Police after an officer abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, which found evidence of institutional homophobia, misogyny and racism within the Metropolitan Police, a finding The Guardian reported.
A Legacy Rooted in SoMa's Drag Scene
Heklina's influence on San Francisco nightlife long predates the London case. She co-founded Trannyshack at The Stud bar, a long-running revue associated with future RuPaul's Drag Race stars including Jinkx Monsoon and Alaska, according to a 2026 Guardian profile of her life. She went on to be associated with the opening of Oasis nightclub, a SoMa venue covered by Hoodline.
Heklina played Dorothy Zbornak in The Golden Girls Live! the Holiday Episodes, a San Francisco holiday tradition. Heklina was memorialized at a Castro Theatre event in May 2023.
Before relocating to the Palm Springs area, Heklina had a long career in San Francisco's drag scene. That dual life — a national drag icon still rooted in SoMa's clubs — is part of why her death in London, and the years-long fight over how police handled it, resonated so deeply with the community she helped build.
