Nearly two years after the sudden death of legendary San Francisco drag performer Heklina, London police have issued a public appeal seeking out three men who were seen leaving the flat where her body was found early on the morning of April 3, 2023.

Heklina, whose birth name was Stefan Grygelko, was days away from co-starring in a two-week run of the musical parody “Mommie Queerest” at the Soho Theatre alongside fellow drag icon Peaches Christ. The duo had been staying at a shared flat in the area while rehearsals were underway, and when they had a couple days off, Christ, also known as Joshua Grannell, said he went to stay at another hotel to unwind and give Heklina privacy after she decided to arrange a sexual encounter. When Grannell came back that Monday morning to pick up his friend, he discovered the door had been left ajar.

“I always knew Heklina was not alone,” he told SFGATE over the phone Sunday. “I knew that from the minute I found her. I just don’t think detectives took it seriously or cared.”

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Heklina and Peaches Christ onstage during Wigstock 2018 at Pier 17 on Sept. 1, 2018, in New York City. 

At first, Grannell thought his friend had left to go grab a cup of coffee. But he sensed something was off when he noticed her belongings were strewn all over the flat — she would never leave a mess like that when they had a rehearsal and a trip to Manchester ahead of them, he thought. Grannell went to the kitchen to fix some lunch for both of them when he realized the bathroom light was still on, as well as a rattling fan they had previously talked about and found annoying. It wasn’t until he went to the living room to draw the curtains that he saw her. 

She was in drag, face down and on her knees, with her wig obscuring her face, Grannell said. At first, Grannell thought she was messing around with him, until he started to shake her and realized her hand was cold to the touch. “That’s when I knew something was horribly wrong,” he said. “I ran downstairs for help, and said, ‘I think my friend is dead.’” 

Grannell said that while he hasn’t withheld the details surrounding Heklina’s death from friends and family, he initially didn’t want to go public with the information because he worried it would lead people to jump to conclusions that may or may not have been true. 

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The late Heklina, Peaches Christ and Martiny at Midnight Mass. 

Performers commemorate Heklina outside of the Castro Theatre on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. 

“This is one person who was shameless when it came to her private life,” he said. “I am not airing her dirty laundry. Her escapades........

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