George Michael's sister Melanie Panayiotou fell into 'diabetic coma', died on brother's 3rd death anniversary
George Michael's sister Melanie Panayiotou was found dead at her $8 million home in Hampstead, North London on Christmas Day, 2019. Seven months on, her cause of death has finally been confirmed following claims that she "died of a broken heart" exactly three years after her brother's tragic death.
The former hairdresser lost her life after falling into a diabetic coma as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis, according to a new report.
While the cause of Panayiotou's death was unknown at the time of her funeral, authorities were reportedly not treating it as suspicious.
According to The Mirror, however, she "died after falling into a diabetic coma on the three year anniversary of the superstar's death."
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a severe complication of diabetes, takes place when the body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones.
Melanie's cause of death was certified by Assistant Coroner for Inner London North, Jonathan Stevens, who conducted a post mortem examination in March this year.
According to the report, Melanie "died from diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication caused by lack of insulin and sky-high blood sugar."
While diabetes was ruled as the underlying cause of death, "other significant conditions contributing to her death were hypertensive heart disease, obesity, and bronchopneumonia."
Goerge Michael, who died in 2016 at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, left his sister Panayiotou older sister Yioda with a $126 million fortune. The $8 million home in Hampstead, North London, where Panayiotou's body was found, was previously owned by her brother.
Following Michael's untimely death, sources said Panayiotou had become a near recluse. "She had been living as a recluse and only really went out to the hairdressers and post office and occasionally with her older sister Yioda," an insider told The Sun. "She stayed indoors, had shopping delivered, and rarely left the house."
The hairdresser, who traveled the world with Michael, became a regular fixture in the London nightclub circuit in the early 1990s. She was reportedly devastated by the death of their mother Lesley in 1997, just like her brother.
Panayiotou took care of Michael after he began a well-documented battle with drugs and alcohol, doing her best to prevent him from giving his life away. According to sources, she was "heartbroken" and in "desperate pain" when he died despite her best efforts.
In December last year, it was reported that Panayiotou would be buried next to her brother's unmarked grave at Highgate Cemetery, where their beloved mother also rests in peace. Panayiotou's share of the massive fortune she inherited from her legendary brother was to be donated to charity, keeping in tune with the singer's generosity during his lifetime.
At the time, a source said that she would "definitely" get a headstone, unlike her brother, whose family did not want to make it a holy destination for his millions of fans. "George still doesn't have a gravestone three years after his death, and it's going to stay that way," the insider told the Daily Star Sunday. "Now that they will also have to visit the family plot to mourn Melanie, they don't want to be wading through fans and their tributes just to pay respect to the growing number of their tragic loved ones."