A drag queen with a prior conviction for the rape of a child died while engaging in an act of bestiality, according to a recent inquest into the cause of death. The death of Darren Moore in early 2023 spurred Cardiff City Council and South Wales Police to shut down roads in order to accommodate a lavish funeral procession that took place in the city center.
Moore was found dead in a secluded car park dressed in full drag on the night of January 22, 2023. The convicted pedophile, who performed under the moniker Crystal Couture and previously made jewellery featured on RuPaul’s Drag Race, had been leaving a nightclub in Cardiff.
Despite Moore having been convicted of four counts of rape on a boy, local authorities shut down three busy roads in the city center to make way for a funeral procession consisting of horse-drawn glass-walled carriage and mourners. Taxis, buses, and delivery vehicles were impacted, with those not involved in the cortege being told to vacate the area by 11:20 a.m and steer clear until 1 p.m local time.
Following his death, police also ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his passing. The inquest has now revealed that Moore expired shortly after engaging in sexual activity with a stranger and his pet dog.
The Daily Star reports that the police inquest resulted in a statement made by the last man to have seen Moore alive that night. The man, who remains anonymous, told law enforcement that he had been walking his dog in the early hours of the morning when he was approached by Moore, who solicited him for sexual activity.
The man accompanied Moore to the car park, but said he “lost interest” when Moore began to engage in intercourse with his dog. The witness told police that his dog had tried to join in, though he had tried to “shoo” the animal away. However, Moore took it upon himself to participate in bestiality.
He said: “Who would think somebody wants to have sex with a dog but apparently he did. I was told to leave him be. Because it was consensual and desired, I let him do what he was asked to do.
“I had never seen something like that before. I could have stopped it and I should have stopped it but I didn’t.”
DNA tests conducted during the inquest revealed “human and non-human” semen inside Moore’s body, with the “non-human” semen matching the DNA of the witness’ dog. Moore was known to have an allergy to dogs, prompting coroner David Regan to explore a “pathological relation with sudden death potentially arising from the dog semen.”
Detective Superintendent Paul Raikes rejected the notion, saying the inquest was not able to “provide a cause of death and attribute it to that.”
The original medical cause of death was given as “sudden death in a man with bronchial asthma” who had consumed alcohol, and in a “temporal association with sexual activity, including anal intercourse.”
As previously revealed by Reduxx, Moore was once known as Darren Sewell, had previously been convicted of four counts of rape on a boy under the age of 14 in 1999, according to past news coverage by the Sun.
Moore spent three years in a Young Offenders’ Institution following his conviction. As a condition of his sentence, Moore was also handed a ban on having contact with children.
But in 2011, Moore was caught working with youth as a gymnastics and dance instructor and was convicted of breaching the lifetime order. He was sentenced to a three-year sex offender’s treatment program, a 24-month supervision order, 300 hours of community service, and a six-month curfew with an electronic tag.
Despite Moore’s conviction, he went on to become a popular drag queen in Cardiff, performing under the names Crystal Couture, CC Quinn and Dolly.
In 2018, Moore was booked to represent British Airways at a Pride Festival in Brighton. The company later had to distance themselves from him after his past conviction came to light, and clarified that part of the reason why they did not know was because of his name change. Two years later, Moore exhibited his hand-made drag jewelry at RuPaul’s Dragcon in London.
Notably, Moore was close friends with Sab Samuel, the founder and CEO Drag Queen Story Hour UK. Samuel performs under the drag name Aida H. Dee, and has been seen wearing Moore’s custom drag jewelry at events with children.
In January, following the announcement of Moore’s death, Samuel made multiple posts on his Facebook page mourning the loss of Moore despite knowing he was a convicted child sex offender.
The founder of Drag Queen Story Hour UK is currently fundraising funeral costs for a drag queen who had been convicted of raping a young boy.
— REDUXX (@reduxx) January 25, 2023
"Aida H. Dee" called Darren Moore his "friend" and said he wears Moore's jewelry to events with children.https://t.co/7bOC0VsxIA
Calling Moore an “an exuberant human being, taken from the world too early,” Samuel assisted in the fundraising efforts for Moore’s funeral by promoting the GoFundMe page made in his honor.
According to the GoFundMe page that had been promoted by Samuel, over £6,800 (approx. $8,200 USD) was raised to give Moore “the biggest send off,” more than doubling its initial goal.
Very few media outlets have mentioned Moore’s history, with most simply referring to him as a “well-known drag artist.” The Daily Mail was one of the few exceptions after it identified Moore as having been a convicted child sex offender following the announcement of his sudden and unexplained death.
In their coverage of Moore’s funeral procession, Wales Online failed to mention his criminal history, and instead focused on the traffic considerations, and the flowers being set at his casket’s glass-walled carriage by mourners.
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