Inside Fairytale of New York singer Kirsty MacColl's tragic death, fortune and who gets royalties
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Kirsty MacColl tragically died while trying to save her son's life. The Fairytale of New York songstress was just 41 when she had been holidaying with her two sons, Louis and Jamie, and her musician boyfriend James Knight, in Cozumel, Mexico, shortly before Christmas 2000, 13 years after the release of the poignant track, with Shane MacGowan.
On December 19, keen diver Kirsty and her family headed out for a dive at the Chankanaab reef, at a designated diving area watercrafts were prohibited from entering, accompanied by veteran divemaster, Iván Díaz. While surfacing from a dive, Kirsty spotted a powerboat entering the restricted area at speed, with the then 15-year-old Jamie right in its path.
Kirsty was able to push Jamie out of the way, and he sustained only minor injuries to his ribs and head. Sadly, the boat struck and ran over heroic Kirsty, leaving her with severe chest injuries that killed her instantly. The power boat was owned by wealthy businessman Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, who was on board at the time of the horror accident. A crew member by the name of Jose Cen Yam ended up taking the blame.
But just three years before her death,on March 27, 1997, Kirsty wrote her will and decided to distribute her fortune of £1,678,316 between those closest to her. In documents obtained by the Mirror, initially, Kirsty had planned to send £20,000 to an individual named Lazaro Laza Antunez who resided in Cuba. She also declared that her brother, Hamish MacColl would receive £50,000 of her fortune.
