A suicidal transgender entertainer who changed her sex THREE times has been found dead in a park – just hours after celebrating her birthday.
Chelsea Attonley, 33, who was born a boy called Matthew, first became a woman when she paid £5,000 for 38FF breasts at the age of 18.
She also had an implant to shrink her penis and testicles and planned to have full gender reassignment surgery in the future.
But Chelsea, who suffered from gender dysphoria, changed her mind and decided she wanted to become Matthew again after the death of her mother in 2013.
Aafter having hormone injections she then decided she didn’t want to lose her womanly figure and decided to return to being Chelsea.
Today (Wed) it emerged the transgender entertainer had been found dead at Bass’ Recreation Ground in Derby in the early hours of Friday (29/7).
Emergency services were called to the park but Chelsea was pronounced dead at the scene.
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances.
A statement on Chelsea’s Facebook page announcing her death said the entertainer had been celebrating her birthday with friends in Derby hours before she died.
It added: “It’s with deep sadness that I have to announce that in the early hours of Friday morning in Derby, Chelsea was found dead in a park after having a night out with friends at the Crown Inn celebrating her birthday.
“This is devastating for all of us and myself and her closest friends are trying to deal with it all.
“Funeral arrangements and further details about her death are all being discussed with the police and her family.
“She Loved You All!! XXX”
Friends and family are now arranging a remembrance event to celebrate Chelsea’s life which is being held in Soho tomorrow evening (Thur).
The statement added: “We did had (sic) a special party arranged in Soho on Thursday 4th August to celebrate her birthday but now this will be a remembrance were all are invited.
“The venue is the Light Lounge, above KU Bar, on Lisle Street and I ask everyone who would like to attend and celebrate Chelsea’s life please come for 8pm.
“I will probably say a little something at around 9pm. But this is for everyone she knew to gather in one place and celebrate her life together.”
Chelsea was famous in the gay community and hosted the main stage at leading transgender festival Sparkle in Manchester for several years.
She had ambitions to become a talk show host like her idol Katie Price and had a reputation for spreading a positive message about being transgender.
Chelsea, who was originally from Somercotes, Derbys., had previously spoken about attempting suicide when she began to struggle with her gender identity.
Speaking last year she told how she first began wearing women’s clothes when she was just three-years-old before she went to her GP when she was aged 18.
She was prescribed female hormones and even borrowed £2,000 from her mother Sandra towards her breast implants which she had done in Thailand.
But Chelsea told how she decided her chances of finding love were being impaired by being a woman after the death of Sandra in 2013.
She decided to go back to living as Matthew and asked the NHS to fund £100-a-time hormone injections to reboot her male testosterone production.
The entertainer also shaved her head and cut up her long blonde hair extensions as her facial hair began to grow back along with her penis and testicles.
But she said she suffered from depression in January last year and tried to kill herself because she hated the changes to her body.
Just weeks before she was due to have her breast implants removed she decided to keep them and return back to being Chelsea.
She was receiving £20-a-month hormone treatments on the NHS and had planned to have a full gender reassignment surgery in the future.
Speaking last October she claimed the £3,500 bill which was footed by the NHS had been well spent.
Chelsea said: “I was living as Matthew and I’d decided to have my breasts removed. But I was looking at them in the mirror and the tears started to flow.
“They made me feel so womanly and the thought of having them taken away just broke my heart. If anything, I just wished they were bigger.
“I knew in that second I wasn’t Matthew, I was Chelsea. I just had to start living as a woman again.
“It’s taken a while but I finally realise I could never be anyone but Chelsea.”
A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Chelsea’s death.
She said: “The ambulance service called us at 12.40pm on Friday, July 29, to report that they were attending calls that a woman had been found ill at Bass’ Recreation Ground in Derby.
“The 33-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There are no suspicious circumstances and we are preparing a file for the coroner.”
A spokesman for Derby and Derbyshire Coroner’s office confirmed a post-mortem examination was due to be carried out.
He said: “Enquiries are ongoing about the cause of Chelsea’s death and a post-mortem examination is due to take place at the Royal Derby Hospital.
“There will most likely be an inquest opening shortly after that.”
Grieving friends today (Wed) paid tribute to transgender Chelsea Attonley saying she appeared in “high spirits” two days before she was found dead.
Best friend Joel Ryder, 32, said he had known the transgender entertainer for 12 years and spoke to her every day.
The photographer, who lives in London, added: “We both met on the Midlands club scene in a Derby club.
“We were both working and we’ve been friends ever since, we were more like brother and sister.
“I travelled up to Derby last Wednesday (27/7) to take her out for her birthday and we spent the day drinking and she was in high spirits.
“On Friday afternoon (29/7) another close friend called because Chelsea hadn’t come home and he had been calling around but the police confirmed to him she was dead.
“The police are dealing directly with the family but we don’t really know any more until after the post mortem.
“We have no idea what happened or why she was in the recreation ground. The cause of death is a mystery.
“The post mortem is today (Wed) so hopefully they will be able to tell us more tomorrow or Friday.”
Joel said Chelsea was last spotted by a friend in a car standing outside a petrol station in Derby at 5.30am last Friday (29/7).
Her body was then discovered in the Bass’ Recreation Ground at 12.40pm later the same day.
Joel, who lived with Chelsea in London for a short period five years ago, added: “Her mum passed away a few years ago and her dad before that.
“Her family now are two brothers, a sister and cousins. They are all too distraught to talk.
“Chelsea was very popular, she was very outspoken and passionate about her issues and life story and a lot of people respected her for that and she made a lot of friends.
“We had a big birthday party planned for her in Soho this Thursday and she was going to come down.
“But because of recent events we’ve turned it into a remembrance occasion and are expecting people to come from far and wide.”
Other grieving friends have also paid tribute to Chelsea who was described as “fabulous and universally loved”.
Derbyshire LGBT chairman Andy Brown, 58, enjoyed birthday drinks with Chelsea at the Crown Inn in Derby last Thursday and said she “seemed good”.
He added: “There was always a great welcome from her.
“She was larger than life, really friendly and you were always guaranteed a good night if you could spent it with her. It was always a happy time, over-the-top time.
“I am completely and utterly shocked, when I left her she seemed good. I’d like to make sure people know the Crown is a safe place.
“We are happy to have people come in to the Bramble Street centre to have a talk.
“If they ring the bell we are happy to come down and welcome you in for a cup of tea and a chat.”
The Crown Inn is well known as a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Derby.
Paying tribute to Chelsea, owner Robert Turner said she was a loyal patron of the pub.
He added: “Chelsea actually carried on into town after she left the Crown.
“She used to turn up once every couple of weeks but we’d not seen her for about three of four weeks until last Thursday.
“She was a lovely person and a great customer. I was actually celebrating with her on the night and buying her a couple of drinks.
“I couldn’t believe it in the morning when I got a call from the police.”
Toni Jacobs, 48, who is also transgender, added: “She was larger than life with a wonderfully large personality.
“The mood lifted when she walked in the Crown. It’s hard to believe she won’t walk into that pub again.
“She struggled with things at times but she got on with it. It’s not an easy thing to be trans in this society but the thing is she was fabulous.
“She just brushed everything aside and was just fabulous.
“She was very inspirational to a lot of people. They would look at Chelsea and think I could do that too. She was very down to earth. She was very friendly and sociable.”
A Just Giving page had today (Wed) raised £225 towards its £2,700 target to be put towards Chelsea’s funeral.
