The family of a woman found dead in Magaluf have revealed their heartbreaking battle to get her body back to the UK.
Danielle Brookes, 23, will have to be cremated in Majorca in a closed coffin after a medical report found she had 'probable' coronavirus.
The body of the club rep, from Crewe, Cheshire, was discovered in an apartment block near the resort's Punta Ballena strip.
Now dad Michael has told the Mirror she tested positive for Covid-19 two months ago and had recovered - before leaving a suicide note saying: “I’m sorry, I love you.”
The 46-year-old, known as Fin, said: “I will have to fly to Magaluf, where there will be a closed coffin. So we can’t kiss her goodbye or go within two metres.
“Afterwards, I have to travel home with her ashes. It means isolating 14 days on arrival and again when returning to the UK.
"It’s all wrong.”
Danielle’s family, of Crewe, Cheshire, say she tested positive on March 25 and recovered after two weeks in isolation.
It remains unclear if it is possible to catch Covid-19 twice or how long antibodies after infection might protect you for.
Fin said Danielle, who was on the island three years, seemed positive after her illness.
But he now fears the rep, who had been treated for bipolar disorder, was putting on a brave face in the lockdown.
He said: “It breaks my heart she was feeling that way. She was private about her mental health. She was taking medication but never spoke about it.
“Lockdown was announced in the UK two days before friends were supposed to visit, so she was upset they had to cancel. Other than that, we didn’t know anything was wrong.”
Fin, who works for an upholstery firm, was in contact up to May 17 – the night she is believed to have died. Lockdown was partially lifted, so some bar terraces were open.
He said: “She sent a photo with friends all drinking pornstar martinis. I told her to be careful and ‘love you’. She saw it and that was her last time on WhatsApp.”
Fin says authorities failed to contact him for three days after finding her body two days later, when a pal raised the alarm.
He said: “Her friend let herself into Dani’s apartment, saw the suicide note and ran for help. She called me. We only heard from police after we contacted the British Embassy.”
Fin is working with the Foreign Office and local MP Kieran Mullan to push for repatriation.
Fin said: “Dani was my best mate. I visited her in Magaluf a year ago for her birthday. We sang karaoke. She had a beautiful voice. Last Sunday was her 24th – we toasted her with pornstar martinis.”
A crowdfunding page for repatriation and funeral costs topped £7,000 last night and the family will release a charity album of songs by her musician pals.
Fin said: “Proceeds will go to homeless and mental health charities. Dani used to buy food for the homeless – she really cared.”
The Foreign Office said it was “in contact with the Spanish authorities”.
- Donate at gofundme.com/f/for-danielle-brookes-family
- If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available 24/7 on 116 123.
