The ex-girlfriend of Eagles Of Death Metal roadie Nick Alexander has described the moment he died in her arms.
Helen Wilson was at the Bataclan in Paris with Alexander when three extremists burst in and killed the band’s 35-year-old merchandise manager along with 88 other people attending the gig on November 13 last year.
Essex coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded a verdict of unlawful killing at the inquest, the Guardian reports.
Wilson, who remained close friends with Alexander after the end of their two-year relationship, provided a written statement to the inquest.
She says: “Nick and I were still talking, I told him not to move and keep his eyes closed. We were playing at being dead.”
The shooters approached Alexander and Wilson and she says she tried to protect him by wrapping her legs around him.
She adds: “The man was tall and had dark hair, he came in our direction and started shooting. I tried to protect Nick by covering his body with my legs and wrapping my arms.
“We were holding hands the whole time. He told me that it was hard to breathe so I told him to squeeze my hand and was telling him to stay with me.”
Wilson tried to give Alexander mouth-to-mouth, when she heard a bomb detonate. She adds: “I protected myself and asked Nick if he was OK, he said, ‘I’m going to die.’ I told him that he wasn’t, he said he couldn’t breathe.
“I could tell he had already died. At the time I was holding Nick he felt cold and his eyes had changed, his body was lifeless.”
Two of the three Bataclan attackers died when they detonated suicide vests. The other was shot and killed by police.
EODM have since returned to play in Paris.
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