Chef who died in fall 'was given results of cancer test'
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Your support makes all the difference.The chef David Dempsey, a protégé of Gordon Ramsay, had been given the results of a cancer test before he plunged 20 metres from an apartment block to his death, it was claimed yesterday.
Mr Dempsey, 31, had been treated for Hodgkin's disease, a form of blood cancer, nine years ago, but had recovered after chemotherapy. However, he was recently sent for scans on his groin.
His sister, Yasmin, 33, said: "We don't know if the cancer had returned – it is something we needed to know. It may explain what happened. My brother has been made out to be some drug-crazed madman, but he was totally anti-drugs. David would have dealt with the cancer – he did it before and he would have done it again."
Hodgkin's disease can recur, but it is controllable and has a low mortality rate.
Mr Dempsey told his mother, Eileen, who lives in Mayhill, Glasgow, that he would talk to her later about the test results. But a few hours later he was dead.
Police were awaiting results of toxicology tests to discover whether Mr Dempsey had taken drugs. There had also been claims that he broke into a flat and tussled with the occupant before falling in the incident eight days ago.
Friends had said he may have been depressed after leaving behind his partner, Fiona, and their three children in Glasgow to take up a post at the Ramsay restaurant in Chelsea.
However, his sister said: "He and his partner were happy, very much together. I last saw him at the funeral of a friend on Good Friday. He seemed his usual self – there was no sign he was depressed. I think he liked the pressure of his job."
Mr Dempsey's mother said she was distressed by allegations that he may have been involved in burglary. "Theft goes against everything David believed in. A few years ago my handbag was snatched and David went ballistic."
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