Stephen Gately's body undiscovered

Dec 23, 2009, 10:04 GMT

Stephen Gately had been dead for eight hours before his body was found.

The Boyzone singer - who died in October aged 33 at his holiday home in Majorca - lay undiscovered for several hours, despite his partner Andy Cowles sleeping next to him for around three hours.

According to a forensics report released by a Spanish judge yesterday (22.12.09), Stephen - who suffered from an undiagnosed heart condition - collapsed following a night out with his partner and gay student Georgi Dochev, 25.

The three - who had been to a club and back to Stephen's £1million apartment - were "very drunk", according to Andy's statement to a judge. He also smoked a cannabis joint, before the three "became intimate" on the sofa.

The timing of the Irish idol's death suggests he collapsed just minutes later.

Georgi and Andy went to bed at 5.30am while Stephen lay motionless on the sofa. His body was not discovered until 1.30pm.

The forensics report said Stephen had been dead for some hours while the pair were in the bedroom.

Scientists at The National Toxicology Institute in Barcelona ruled out drink or drugs as a factor in Stephen's death.

They concluded he suffered heart problems caused by atheromatosis, a thickening of arteries.

Preliminary findings in October stated the 'Love Me For A Reason' hitmaker had suffered a pulmonary oedema, a build up of fluid in his lungs, which had led to his death.

The star's relatives have previously said there is a history of heart disease in the family.