Natalie Hawes: Woman Accused Of Snorting Dead Grandma’s Ashes Offers Bizarre Excuse, Denies Story
Natalie Hawes quickly became one of the most famous women on the internet this week. Her name surfaced on social media as the previously unidentified woman who pulled off a bizarre and sickening stunt at a party held at the Dundee, Scotland, home where she had been welcomed as a houseguest after finding herself in need of a place to stay.
But now Hawes has surfaced, telling the U.K. media that the reported incident has ruined her life and forced her out of her hometown and into hiding. She denies doing what she is accused of — but as weird as the accusation against her may be, her excuse is almost equally bizarre.
The Inquisitr reported on the stomach-turning incident earlier this week. Here’s what happened.
A 51-year-old mom of four, Jacqui Tierney, said that she took the young woman in, letting her stay in her home when she had no home of her own.
But one evening about two months ago, while Tierney was out, the houseguest — later identified as 20-year-old Hawes — had a bunch of people to the house for a wild, booze-fueled party.
At some point during this bash, Hawes allegedly found an urn that contained the ashes of Tierney’s recently deceased mother. She then proceeded to dump the ashes out onto a table, cut them into lines, and snorted the late grandmother’s cremated remains up her nose.
That was the story that Tierney told, anyway. Indeed, the bizarre tale was backed up by a friend of Natalie Hawes. The friend spoke to Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper on the condition of anonymity.
The “friend” told the Record that Hawes hoovered up the dead woman’s ashes “by accident” and that the stunt — as might be expected — left the young party girl feeling “sick for days.”
Natalie Hawes, however, now says that both Jacqui Tierney and her own anonymous friend have the story all wrong. She admits that there was some truth to the story, but says she was not involved.
In fact, she offered an alibi that makes her look almost as bad as the original accusation.
“It didn’t involve me. I didn’t snort anyone’s ashes at all,” she said, adding that the incident actually took place more than two years ago, not just two months.
At the time, Hawes would have been only 18.
What really happened? Hawes admits that the ashes were out on a table, but she says they didn’t look like any drug she wanted to take. In fact, she says, she was the victim of a cruel prank, one that she was too smart to fall for.
“They tried to tell me the powder was Bubbles but I could see it wasn’t right. It didn’t look like what they said it was. It looked like ash out of an ashtray. I never took it,” she said.
“Bubbles” refers to bath salts, a “legal high” that has become popular among young thrillseekers for its easy availability and low cost. Bath salts are also known as the “zombie drug” for their alleged connection to violent, psychotic episodes by users — including a chilling “face eating” attack in Florida in 2012.
But Natalie Hawes says she didn’t snort anything that night, not even the bath salts that she actually craved — and the whole story, she complains, “is f*****g up my life!”
[Image: Facebook via Daily Record]