Sheffield Keeley: Tragedy as homeless woman and TikTok personality dies hours after getting place to live
A 34-year-old homeless woman, known online as Sheffield Keeley, tragically died on the same day as she was offered a place to live, an inquest heard today.
“She was kind-hearted with a great sense of humour” Keeley Thornton’s mother, Sally Jones, told the inquest into the death of the 34-year-old.
She passed away just hours after Sheffield Council had shown Keeley around a home found for her.
Keeley was found unresponsive on Arundel Gate in Sheffield city centre on January 14, 2025 and later died at Northern General Hospital.
Known online as “Sheffield Keeley”, she had become well-known for dancing and singing in TikTok videos filmed by members of the public before her death.
Keeley, a single woman of no fixed abode, had struggled with mental health, substance misuse and abusive relationships for years, the inquest heard.
On the day she died, she was shown around a council property and was reportedly excited, even moved to tears, with her mother describing it as a potential fresh start for Keeley.
Later that evening, Keeley collapsed in Sheffield city centre and died in hospital.
Her mother, Mrs Jones said: “ I wonder if the chance she was given with the accommodation and support could have been a turning point for her. Sadly, we will never know."
A documentary inquest into her death was held before Senior Coroner, Tanyka Rawden.
Keeley’s family was aware of the hearing and agreed to the documentary format but did not attend.
A police officer was on duty at 6pm on January 14 when he received a radio call about an unresponsive woman who was not breathing, the inquest heard.
The officer ran to the scene and found Keeley lying on the ground, with a male member of the public performing CPR.
The police officer took over chest compressions.
A female doctor, also a bystander, assisted until paramedics arrived and took over.
Witnesses said Keeley had been seen dancing with her friend just a few minutes earlier, at 5.45pm.
Shortly after, she was seen lying on the ground with a female in a green hoodie on top of her, and both appeared to be asleep.
When the woman woke up and realised Keeley was not responding, an ambulance was called.
The woman remained at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of assault, and initially said she could not remember being on the ground or how she got there.
She later recalled lying on top of Keeley, but no further action was taken.
Keeely was taken by ambulance away from Arundel Gate at 6.50pm and arrived at Northern General Hospital soon after.
Dr Burcher, head of emergency operations, said she was well known to the hospital due to admissions for anxiety, depression and substance misuse.
She had minor injuries, but these were consistent with drug use, the inquest heard.
Hospital staff administered CPR as they battled to revive Keeley but she could not be saved.
The cause of death was recorded as multiple drug toxicity.
Toxicology tests revealed Keeley had taken the synthetic cannabinoid known on the streets as Spice, along with chlordiazepoxide, pregabalin, diazepam and alcohol.
All of these substances depress the central nervous system, and when combined, can become cumulatively fatal, even if similar doses had been taken before.
Keeley’s blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal drink-drive limit.
The inquest heard that having someone lying on top of her could have worsened Keeley’s breathing, but there was no internal injury or haemorrhage to prove this caused her death.
In a statement, Keeley’s mother said: “She was kind-hearted with a great sense of humour, she loved to laugh and had a great imagination.
“She would give anyone her last penny.”
She said Keeley was popular at school, but “too trusting of people and vulnerable”.
After the breakdown of her first relationship, she said Keeley began to drink more and put herself in frequent vulnerable situations.
She also fell pregnant, aged 20, with a child from this relationship, who Mrs Jones cares for.
Keeley then ended up in another relationship, which her mother said sank her further into alcohol and depression.
This relationship brought another child, who Mrs Jones also looks after.
Keeley’s mother continued: “We loved her dearly and we think of her every day.
“I wonder if this new house could have been a turning point for her, but sadly we will never know.”
Recording a drug-related death conclusion, Senior Coroner Mrs Rawden addressed Keeley’s family, saying: “I would like to offer her family my sincere condolences at this time.”
In the aftermath of Keeley’s tragic death, a street homelessness organisation said she had been exploited by those who paid her to dance and swim in the Barker’s Pool fountains “like a performing clown” when she had been drinking.
They would then post their videos on TikTok.
In a blog post, chief executive Tim Renshaw railed at those who helped build her 'street celebrity’ status.
It said: “Just for likes, that’s what it comes down to. They exploited her just for likes.
“It wasn’t a casual filming of someone you come across, which many think is bad enough.
“No, she was sought out, she told us she was given money to be on social media, to swim in fountains in the middle of winter or dance in an inebriated state like a performing clown or whatever…
“She was effectively being fed booze to perform because that was her addiction. Dance and we’ll give you more of what you crave, what you can’t do without, what your body craves and needs. Dance and we’ll reward you with the funds to buy more.”
He added: “The truth is she was a person, a daughter, a niece. She was a human being not an entertainment.”.
The Archer Project said there had been a “concerted effort” to “stop exploitation of this person.”
It added: “Law enforcement, city centre management, public sector and voluntary sector agencies are the ones who supported her. So, why didn’t we do a better job? That’s a question we have been asking for a while and for a good reason.
“Her life was complex and the thorny issue of ‘capacity’ loomed large. When she was drunk, she didn’t have capacity. In other words, she didn’t have the ability to care for herself in any way. She was physically at risk, emotionally at sea and unable to assess safety from danger. But at other times she had capacity, that is she could demonstrate a cognitive understanding of her situation and the options before her.
“There is a lot of unhappy, hurt, upset and angry people who worked closely with her in homeless and other agencies today. We will take time to think through what it is we might have done differently to prevent this tragedy.
“What we do know is that voyeuristic social media gurus worked against those of us who were supporting her. They made her life worse. Today we will mourn, we will think of her and her family and the hurt they will be feeling.”