Kirsty MacColl’s ex-husband has alleged that there was a “cover-up” surrounding her death to protect a Mexican billionaire.
The singer, who collaborated with The Pogues on their festive classic ‘Fairytale Of New York’, died 25 years ago today, on December 18, 2000. She was 41 years old.
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MacColl was on holiday in Cozumel, Mexico, at the time with her sons and her boyfriend, musician James Knight. She was surfacing from a scuba dive when a speedboat hit her, killing her instantly.
Record producer Steve Lillywhite, who helmed ‘Fairytale Of New York’, was married to MacColl between 1984 and 1994. He has now spoken about his doubts over the circumstances of his ex-wife’s untimely death.
“They said that it was a young kid driving [the speedboat], but no one believes that,” he told The Sun (via LBC), saying that the person responsible avoided justice due to a “cover-up”.
“I think they just didn’t want to have an enormous lawsuit because he was one of the richest guys in Mexico,” he added.
Lillywhite went on to suggest that the speedboat could be traced to billionaire Mexican businessman Guillermo González Nova. Instead, deck hand José Cen Yam, 26, was found to be behind the wheel.
Yam was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison. However, he ultimately avoided jail by paying a fine of just £61. This prompted allegations that he’d agreed to take responsibility in exchange for money.
MacColl’s family have previously spoken out against the verdict, calling Yam a “fall guy” and saying “no one was really held accountable for what happened”.
They referred to eyewitness statements that contradicted Yam’s claim that he was driving the boat, and alleged that the vehicle had been driven much faster than he’d admitted.
González Nova, a supermarket tycoon, was reported to be on board the speedboat, and the only person with a licence to drive it. He died in 2009, per The Standard.
MacColl’s son Louis Lillywhite was just 14 years old when his mother died. Speaking to The Mirror last month, he explained: “We spent many years as a family trying to get justice. I think we managed to raise awareness and, if it saved just one person, I am happy about that, but what we would have liked was some accountability.
“It was never about money, it was about someone taking responsibility.”
He continued: “They called us ‘money-grabbing’, which just spurred me on to try harder to get someone held to account. But we were dealing with the richest man in the most corrupt country…”
Louis also recalled the “traumatic” nature of his mother’s passing, saying that he and his older brother, Jamie, “still have flashbacks”.
“What I can say is it was really grim. I can’t remember the exact details of that trip to Mexico but I can remember being in the water and thinking, ‘Where’s Jamie?’,” he said.
“It was and is so graphic. We could only have been in the water a few minutes afterwards before they got us out. I don’t really remember too much.”
In 2009, a group campaigning for justice for MacColl announced that they were to disband. They said that despite “all avenues of investigation” being exhausted, no further information as to who should be implicated in the incident had come to light.
Last year, The Pogues addressed the culture wars surrounding their hit Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ in an interview with NME.
The band’s frontman, Shane MacGowan, died in November 2023. He was 65 years old. His funeral saw Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neill cover ‘Fairytale Of New York’ with the surviving members of The Pogues.