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A paedophile drag queen is at centre of a police investigation after he was found dead in the street in full stage costume.
Jeweller Darren Moore, 39, a convicted sex offender, had been reported missing after disappearing on a night out with friends.
Moore, known as Crystal Couture, was well known on the gay scene across the UK.
He was wearing a blonde wig, full make-up, false breasts, a yellow dress with frilly sleeves and matching handbag on the night he went missing.
Darren Moore, who also performed under the name CC Quinn, was found dead in Cardiff city centre in the early hours yesterday
Jeweller Moore, 39, a convicted sex offender, had been reported missing after disappearing on a night out with friends
Moore, who also performed under the name CC Quinn, was found dead in Cardiff city centre in the early hours yesterday.
Police said they were investigating a ‘sudden and unexplained’ death and asked for help from anyone with information.
The area was cordoned off on Tuesday and flowers were laid at the spot where Moore was found dead.
Members of the LGBT community in Cardiff are claiming on social media that he was the victim of a vicious hate crime but police have not given a cause of death.
Moore, who also performed under the name CC Quinn, was found dead in Cardiff city centre in the early hours yesterday.
Moore changed his name to when he married his long term partner also called Darren
As a teenager, and under his previous name of Darren Sewell, he was convicted of four counts of rape on a boy under the age of 16 in Barry, South Wales, and sent to a Young Offenders’ Institution for three years.
He was banned from having contact with children but in 2011 he was convicted of breaching the order by working as a gymnastics and dance tutor with children in Cardiff.
He was sentenced to a three-year sex offender’s treatment programme, a 24-month supervision order, 300 hours unpaid work and a six-month curfew on electronic tag.
Moore rose to national prominence in 2018 when he represented British Airways at a Pride Festival in Brighton.
He was hired as a drag queen on the British Airways float that toured the seaside city.
Moore was seen wearing a cabin crew costume and standing among British Airways ambassadors waving the rainbow flag celebrating the LGBTQ+.
Wearing a thick black wig, thick make-up, false eyelashes, stockings, high-heeled shoes and a blue cabin crew costume, Moore posed for publicity photographs with full-time British Airways staff.
Moore, 39, a convicted sex offender, had been reported missing after disappearing on a night out with friends
The airline was unaware Moore, who was using the name Sewell at the time, had convictions for raping an under-age boy when he was 18.
British Airways said Moore did not work for the airline but was brought in by a ‘third party entertainment agency who supplied a number of people for the event.’
Crystal Couture’s official website describes his act as ‘for audiences large and small and of all ages’ and ‘available for wedding, christening, birthdays, and celebrations if (sic) all types’.
But audience members walked out of a ‘Pride Without Prejudice’ event in 2018 when he made insensitive jokes about prolific child abuser Jimmy Saville.
Moore changed his name to Moore when he married his long term partner also called Darren.
He ran a company called Blingblingbling and exhibited his jewellery at RuPaul’s annual Dragcon event in London in 2020.
His close friend Stacey Selwood posted an appeal when he went missing saying: ‘Darren was last seen in Cardiff around 5am this morning and hasn’t been seen since.
The scene in Windsor Place has been cordoned off, South Wales Police said
‘His phone is off and the location to find his phone.
‘Friends who he was out with said he just left on his own and they haven’t seen him since. His partner is absolutely beside himself.
‘This is not like Darren at all and his family are worried sick for his safety.’
After his body was discovered Ms Selwood said on Facebook: ‘I’m honestly heartbroken. You were the sweetest, craziest and most beautiful soul I’ve had the pleasure of calling my dear friend. You could make me smile on the darkest of days, I will miss you forever.’
A police cordon is in place while enquiries continue at the scene on Windsor Place
Cardiff gay bar the Golden Cross tweeted under the headline Rest in Fabulousness: ‘We are deeply saddened to learn of Darren Moore’s passing. He was the life and soul of the Party and would always be entertaining the masses, usually accompanied with a round of shots.’
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has raised more than £4,000 to go towards giving ‘Darren the biggest send off’. The memorial fund paid tribute to his ‘larger than life character and charisma’.
South Wales Police said the 39-year-old man from Newport, Gwent, was found dead after an ‘incident’ in Windsor Place, Cardiff, on Sunday evening.
A spokesman said: ‘South Wales Police is continuing to investigate the sudden and unexplained death of a man in the Windsor Place area of Cardiff city centre yesterday evening (Sunday, January 22).
‘Although he has not yet been formally identified, he is believed to be a 39-year-old man from Newport.
Moore had worked with TV’s RuPaul and was well known on the gay scene across the UK
‘A post mortem examination is being carried out and next of kin are being kept updated.
Superintendent Michelle Conquer, Head of Operations at Cardiff and Vale BCU, said: ‘We understand there is shock and upset in the local and wider community following the sudden and unexplained death of a man in Cardiff city centre on Sunday.
‘While an investigation is on-going, our Neighbourhood Policing Team as always will continue to provide a visible police presence in the city centre.
‘A police cordon is in place while enquiries continue at the scene and we thank the community for their support at this time.
‘We urge anyone with concerns to approach one of our officers or contact us by one of the following means.’
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