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Sinead McNamara: Australian Instagram influencer died by hanging, says coroner

Posted at 11:38 AM, Sep 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-04 13:38:46-04

An Australian Instagram influencer who was found unconscious on a superyacht docked in Greece died by hanging, the coroner in the case told CNN on Tuesday.

Sinead McNamara, 20, regularly posted images of her travels to exotic locations, and said in a post earlier this month that she had been living and working on a boat “seeing all the world has to offer.”

News reports and social media posts identified the boat as the Mayan Queen IV, a 93-meter long vessel which is reportedly owned by Mexican billionaire and mining magnate Alberto Baillères, but a PR firm for his company said it had no comment.

The PR company for Grupo Bal declined to confirm that the magnate owns the yacht, and said it had no comment on McNamara’s death.

McNamara, whoseFacebook page described her as hailing from Port Macquarie in the state of New South Wales, was found in critical condition Friday on board the yacht docked in the port of Argostoli on the island of Kefalonia, said the coast guard. She died while being airlifted to hospital.

Coroner Elias Boyiokas said examinations showed “no visible signs of struggle or physical abuse” but that marks left by a rope were found on the girl’s neck.

“It is not yet possible to say if she was psychologically pushed to act or was under the influence of drugs at the time,” Boyiokas said, adding that toxicology test results would “probably take at least some weeks.”

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian national who died in Greece, but would not identify the person for privacy reasons.

McNamara, who had more than 27,000 followers onInstagram, wrote in one early August post that she would be seeing her family and friends in less than a month.

Tributes have poured in, with Instagram users posting condolences comments on her photographs.

McNamara’s final post included a touching anecdote about when she learned the Polish word for blue: “niebieski.”

“A young polish (sic) girl from my last boat taught me it when we were jet skiing around the most beautiful turquoise water in the med last year. It has been my favorite word ever since,” she wrote.