Marianna in Conspiracyland 2: 6. The Inquest
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BBC
4.0 • 545 Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
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Summary
Can Coroners' courts cope with conspiracy?
It’s been more than a year since Paloma Shemirani died after rejecting chemotherapy in favour of alternative methods. Her brother Gabriel blames the beliefs of their mum Kate - who is a prominent British conspiracy theorist - for his sister’s death. This summer, he’s found himself face to face with his mum for the first time since Paloma died at an inquest into how and why she lost her life. After investigating - and revealing - what happened to Paloma for the first time almost four months ago, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent Marianna Spring is back following the twists and turns of an inquest that has felt like Conspiracyland colliding with the real world. In the coroner’s court she see’s medics questioned by conspiracy theorists and tense family feuds unfolding in real-time. Could Paloma have been saved? And can society handle Conspiracyland?
Transcript
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| 0:40.6 | The last time I spoke to Kay in person was, on the day I found out my sister died, so it was seven days after she died. |
| 0:46.1 | So I called her up, I can I say like, you know, in an angry, but just sort of like, I wouldn't say pleading. |
| 0:52.8 | I'd say more like, you can tell I just wanted an answer. |
| 0:54.9 | I was going, is it true? Is it true that Paloma's dead? |
| 0:57.7 | This is Gabriel Shemarani. |
| 1:00.4 | He's telling me about the day he found out that his twin sister, Paloma, had died. |
| 1:07.1 | Kay, the person he spoke to on the phone, is his mum, Kate Shemarani, a prominent British conspiracy theory influencer. |
| 1:15.8 | She hadn't told him about his sister's death. |
| 1:18.7 | He only found out about a week later. |
| 1:21.9 | And Gabriel thinks his mum's beliefs contributed to Paloma's decision to reject chemotherapy, a treatment that could have saved |
| 1:29.6 | her life after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. And Kay just kind of taunts me. She just goes, |
| 1:36.2 | who's told you that? Like, who's made you think that? You're crazy. I just said to her, like, you know, |
| 1:41.5 | I've, you know, it's over for you. I'm going to, you know, I'm going to, um, you know, it's over for you. |
| 1:45.0 | I'm going to, you know, I'm going to hold your account, you know, I'm going to bring you to justice. |
| 1:50.0 | I'm going to make you face justice. |
... |
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