A devastated couple whose daughter died abroad age just 27 say they have no idea where their grandchildren are.
Judy and Sean Devlin are still fighting for answers over the death of their daughter in a Pakistan hospital – and the disappearance of their grandchildren.
The Mirror reports how single mum Kelsey was last seen by her parents in 2021 when she flew to Islamabad with children Zara and Zain after being told her Pakistani mother-in-law was dying.
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Three weeks later Kelsey was dead in hospital after falling ill the day after she arrived at her ex-partner’s home.
She was buried before her parents had even been told she had died.
Heartbroken Judy and Sean have since had no contact with their grandchildren – and have no idea where they are.
They eventually were sent a picture of a death certificate for Kelsey but claim it contains “huge inconsistencies”, with questions remaining over how she died.Now they want her body exhumed to get to the truth – and their grandchildren returned to the UK.
But they say communication with the family of Kelsey’s ex has run cold.
Fighting back tears Sean, 55, of Burnley, said: “I’ve lost my little girl and I don’t even know where she is buried. That is barbaric. There are so many unanswered questions about how she died – we just want to bring her home.”
Judy added: “No official person came to tell us Kelsey had died. Nobody offered us help. We were devastated.
“We had to have a funeral here without a body. We just want to bring her home and give her a Christian burial. And we want answers about her death.”
Kelsey flew out to Islamabad on June 3, 2021 with Zara and Zain – now 10 and eight years old – to see her ex-partner’s mother, said to be dying. Her ex did not go with her. The day after she arrived at the Pakistan capital she phoned Judy to say she was unwell. The next day she sent a message that she was in hospital.
Mum-of-10 Judy, 49, said: “We kept ringing the hospital but couldn’t get to speak to her. We were told she had Covid, then sepsis, then she was in a coma.” Kelsey was moved to another hospital on June 15 and the family finally managed to see her on a video message. She told them she couldn’t wait to get home but felt like her insides were “burning”.
Sean said: “I was ringing the British Embassy every day desperate for news – we were so worried we couldn’t sleep. Eventually someone from the Embassy said they would go and visit Kelsey, but they never did.”
On July 1, her sister Chloe was stunned to receive a message from Kelsey’s ex, saying she had died in the night.
Then daughter Zara called. Chloe, 25, said: “Zara said mum had passed away and that is all we heard. We haven’t had any contact with the children since. It’s absolutely crushing.”
Following frantic months of requests for the death certificate, Kelsey’s distraught parents were sent the picture bearing the logo of Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, 12 miles south of Islamabad.
But its mysterious inaccuracies raised even more questions for the couple. The certificate gave the cause of death for the previously healthy Kelsey as sepsis, a stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest.
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But it got her age wrong and stated she had been an epileptic from birth – which her family say is not true. It also showed she was married and had converted to Islam, which the family denies.
Sean said: “Kelsey had never been ill in her life. She played football semi-professionally. She had never had epilepsy.” Not knowing where to turn, the couple enlisted the help of local vicar Father Alex Frost, who has been asking the police and Government questions on their behalf.
Both the Foreign Office and Lancashire Police told him Kelsey’s death was the responsibility of Pakistani officials.
He said: “Sometimes I feel we have been banging our head against a brick wall. When I first rang the Foreign Office to report her death, they told me to do it on an online portal, like reporting a missing dog.
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