A man arrested on suspicion of killing a drag queen in Cardiff has been released on bail.
The 50-year-old man had been detained three days after the body of convicted child sex-offender Darren Moore, 39, was found in the city centre on January 22.
The unnamed man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter has been released pending further enquiries, South Wales Police confirmed today.
Mr Moore, who performed as a local drag queen known as Crystal Couture, went missing after his regular Saturday night show at a Cardiff gay club.
He was last seen at 5am and was later found dead in an alleyway wearing a luminous green dress, his trademark blonde wig and heels.
A local man arrested on suspicion of killing Darren Moore (pictured above) on January 22 has been released on bail
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Moore’s death continue and police have not yet determined a cause of death
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Raikes, from South Wales Police, said further examinations are ongoing to establish a cause of death.
‘Initial investigations have so far not revealed or confirmed any obvious cause of death, however, extensive enquiries are continuing to establish the cause and circumstances of Mr Moore’s death,’ Detective Raikes said.
Moore had appeared on TV’s RuPaul and was an established member of the gay scene in the UK.
As a teenager in 1991, and under a previous name of Darren Sewell, he was convicted of four counts of rape on a boy under the age of 16. Moore was then sent to a Young Offenders’ Institution for three years.
Upon his release, he was banned from having contact with children. He later breached this in 2011 when he worked as a children’s gymnastics and dance tutor.
The drag queen’s family described him as: ‘always the life and soul where ever he went’
Mr Moore was a convicted child sex offender who was banned from coming into contact with children
The 39-year-old had been working as a drag queen for hire. His official website for Crystal Couture states: his act is ‘for audiences large and small and of all ages’ and ‘available for wedding, christening, birthdays, and celebrations if (sic) all types’.
Since his death, tributes have poured in from friends and fans, particularly from Cardiff’s LGBT+ community.
The Cardiff gay bar, 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.’
Mr Moore’s family have described him as ‘a loving husband, son, brother, uncle and friend’.
‘He was always the life and soul where ever he went, he was our social butterfly. He made sure he had a lot of time for people, and never judged others,’ they said.
His loved ones have asked for privacy at this difficult time.
A GoFundMe fundraising page has been created to help his family pay for funeral costs and has amassed more than £6,000 in two days.
The Cardiff city centre alleyway where Moore’s body was found in the early hours of Sunday (January 22)
A bouquet of flowers is left near the crime scene as tributes pour in from the local LGBTQ+ community
Members of the LGBT community in Cardiff are speculating on social media that his death was a result of a vicious hate crime.
However, police have asked people to ‘refrain from speculating on social media about what has occurred and please let the police investigation take its course.’
They are also appealing for information from anyone who saw Mr Moore in the early hours of Sunday or who was in the vicinity of Park Lane and Windsor Place between 3am and 7am.
The investigation continues.
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