マニックスのリッチーに死亡宣告
Missing Manic Street Preacher Richey Edwards declared legally dead, 13 years on - Wales Online
MISSING Manic Street Preachers guitarist and songwriter Richey Edwards has been declared as presumed dead, 13 years after his disappearance, a spokeswoman for the band confirmed yesterday.
The 27-year-old Welsh musician’s car was found abandoned at a notorious suicide spot near the Severn Bridge in February 1995.
Despite alleged sightings across the world, many believe Edwards, who had battled alcoholism, anorexia and self-harm, took his own life.
No body has ever been found.
His parents, Graham and Sherry Edwards, staunch Methodists from Blackwood, have now been granted a court order for him to be declared presumed dead, according to the Manic Street Preachers publicist and long-time friend Terri Hall.
Ms Hall said the move was “hugely emotional” for remaining band members James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore, who have dedicated songs to Edwards and are using some of his lyrics in their new album, due out next May.
Ms Hall told yesterday’s Mail on Sunday: “The band has been aware this was coming. This is the parents’ choice and the band is happy to go with what the parents decide is best.
“We all dream Richey will come back one day. You hope he is still around somewhere.
“But it is no longer a realistic hope and if this offers some kind of closure then the band will be content with that.”
Ms Hall added that the band were unavailable for comment as they were abroad.
Earlier this month, the Blackwood trio posted a statement on their website which read: “All the songs we are recording are lyrics left to us by Richey. Finally it feels like the right time to use them.”
Edwards was last seen checking out of London’s Embassy Hotel at 7am on February 1, 1995.
It is believed the guitarist and lyricist, who became notorious for carving “4 Real” into his arm in front of a journalist to demonstrate that he was a serious artist, returned to his Cardiff flat, where he left his passport, credit card and Prozac pills.
He then drove to the original Severn Bridge, where his Vauxhall Cavalier car was later found, shortly before the band were due to set off on a tour of America.
His parents, who have flown to Goa and Fuerteventura to investigate reported sightings, have been granted control of his estate, worth a reported £455,990. After death duties this will be reduced to £377,548.
A minimum seven-year period is required before a missing person can legally be declared dead. Edwards’ parents were entitled to begin presumption of death proceedings in 2002, but refused, hoping their son had faked his own death to escape the pressures of fame and started a new life elsewhere.
The family’s lawyer, David Ellis, said their change of heart reflected “an acceptance that his affairs have got to be sorted”.
“That’s not the same as an acceptance that he is dead,” he added.
The document, issued by the Probate Registry of Wales, names Edwards’ parents as executors and states he died “on or since” February 1, 1995.
Some of Edwards’ friends insist he was not the type to commit suicide. In 1994, he was quoted as saying: “In terms of the S word, that does not enter my mind.”
Missing Manics Star Officially Presumed Dead | Contactmusic.com
The remaining band members, James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore, have been putting Edwards' music royalties into a bank account for him, in the hope that he will one day return to claim them.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/147693-missing-manic-street-preacher-now-presumed-dead
A spokesperson for the Manics, meanwhile, offered the following to the Western Mail: "The band has been aware this was coming. This is the parents' choice and the band is happy to go with what the parents decide is best. We all dream Richey will come back one day. You hope he is still around somewhere. But it is no longer a realistic hope and if this offers some kind of closure then the band will be content with that."
After 13 years, the parents of missing rock star Richey Edwards admit he’s dead | Daily Mail Online
It has been 13 years since he mysteriously disappeared but now the fate of missing rock star Richey Edwards has been finally settled – in legal terms, at least.
There have been dozens of unconfirmed ‘sightings’ of the Manic Street Preachers guitarist and songwriter, public appeals and claims from band members that ‘things don’t add up’.
Now, however, his parents Graham and Sherry Edwards have been granted a court order for their son to be presumed dead.
The move is said to be ‘hugely emotional’ for the other three band members – James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore – who still dedicate songs to Edwards hoping he might one day return.
Described as a tortured genius, it is widely believed that Edwards, 27, took his life by jumping from the Severn Bridge although no body has ever been found.
He was last seen at 7am on February 1, 1995, in London’s Embassy Hotel as he prepared to fly to America for a tour.
After driving to his flat in Cardiff, where he left his passport, credit card and Prozac pills, he headed for the service station next to the old Severn Bridge. His car was found there 17 days later.
Because no body was discovered conspiracy theories soon began to circulate. In 1997, a college lecturer claimed to have seen Edwards getting on a bus in the hippy resort of Goa, India.
The following year, a barmaid in the Canary Islands told a newspaper how one customer had run for the door after being told: ‘You’re Richey from the Manic Street Preachers.’
Earlier this year, Nicky Wire reignited the debate, telling the NME: ‘There’s still things that don’t add up.’
The band even maintain an account in his name to receive a quarter-share of his song royalties.
However, their long-time friend and publicist Terri Hall told The Mail on Sunday they supported the family’s decision.
‘The band has been aware this was coming,’ she said. ‘It is hugely emotional for all of us. This is the parents’ choice and the band is happy to go with what the parents decide is best. We all dream Richey will come back one day. You hope he is still around somewhere.
Graduation: Richey at his degree ceremony at Swansea University in 1989Graduation: Richey at his degree ceremony
‘But it is no longer a realistic hope and if this offers some kind of closure then the band will be content with that.’
Edwards’ parents, staunch Methodists from Blackwood, Gwent, were entitled to begin presumption of death proceedings in 2002 – the minimum seven-year period required before a missing person can legally be declared dead.
But they refused, hoping that their son’s apparent suicide was a ruse to reinvent himself away from the pressures of the music business.
Yesterday, they would not discuss their change of heart. But the family’s lawyer, David Ellis, said it reflected ‘an acceptance that his affairs have got to be sorted’.
He added: ‘That’s not the same as an acceptance that he is dead.’
In a separate move, his parents were also granted control of his estate.
The document issued by the Probate Registry of Wales names his parents as executors and states that he died ‘on or since’ February 1, 1995.
Because Edwards died without leaving a will, and had no spouse or children, his entire estate of ??455,990, reduced after death duties to ??377,548, is inherited by his parents.
Edwards spent much of his adult life suffering from depression, anorexia and bouts of self-mutilation. In 1991, he used a razor to carve ‘4Real’ on to his arm in front of a journalist – an attempt to prove his artistic convictions.
But friends insisted he was not the type to contemplate suicide. And in 1994, he was quoted as saying: ‘In terms of the S word, that does not enter my mind.’
