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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Kirsten McStay & Zoe Delaney

Rolf Harris' two causes of death revealed as convicted paedophile died weeks ago

Rolf Harris died of neck cancer and "frailty of old age" at his home on May 10, according to his death certificate.

A registrar at Maidenhead Town Hall confirmed the disgraced TV presenter's death on Tuesday afternoon.

His family said in a statement, Harris “died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest."

The disgraced star's death was registered by former PA Lisa Ratcliff on Tuesday, the same day the news of his passing was made public, writes The Mirror.

He is set to be cremated with his family announcing that his funeral has already taken place.

The Australian-born TV presenter was popular for decades before being convicted of a string of indecent assaults in June 2014.

A statement from his family, released through his solicitor, said: “This is to confirm that Rolf Harris recently died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest.

“They ask that you respect their privacy. No further comment will be made.”

In 2014, he was convicted and sentenced to five years and nine months in jail for 12 indecent assaults on four underage girls between 1968 and 1986.

Convicted paedophile Rolf was said to be receiving care from nurses and carers (Getty Images)

He was released from prison in 2017 – part-way through a re-trial on four accusations of indecent assault.

In November 2017, he appeared at the Court of Appeal in London to try and overturn his convictions and had one overturned. However, the other 11 convictions remain.

Rolf reportedly hired a private investigator, who was said to be gathering "dirt" to discredit his victims. But, in 2019, it was reported the disgraced TV personality had decided to abandon the bid to clear his name.

Harris had not spoken out publicly since his release from jail. But In a statement for Merritt’s 2022 book Rolf Harris: The Defence Team’s Special Investigator Reveals the Truth Behind the Trials, Harris said: “I understand we live in the post truth era and know few will want to know what really happened during the three criminal trials I faced – it’s easier to condemn me and liken me to people like Saville and Glitter.

“I was convicted of offences I did not commit in my first trial. That is not just my view but the view of the Court of Appeal who overturned one of my convictions. I had already served the prison sentence by the time of the appeal. I changed my legal team after the first trial, and I was told that if the truth was out there, William (Merritt) would find it and he did.

“The evidence he found proved my innocence to two subsequent juries. I’d be in prison serving a sentence for crimes I did not commit if it were not for William’s investigation. It is difficult to put into words the injustice that I feel.”

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