A former British Rugby League player suffered a fatal heart attack as he “viciously beat up” his girlfriend of three years while the couple vacationed in Italy. Ricky Bibey, 40, and Jennie Platt, 44, were at the Hotel Continentale in Florence last month when witnesses began hearing screams coming from their room. When police arrived, they discovered the horrific truth, Metro reports.
My thoughts & love is solely with Jennie Platt who was subjected to a prolonged + horrendous violent assault by Ricky Bibey which she's still being treated for in Italy.
I have no respect or sympathy for Bibey.
Please get home soon Jennie and best wishes in your healing xx pic.twitter.com/tsmVQv5z6d— Louise Woodward-Styles (@MrsLouiseWS) August 2, 2022
- Platt was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Her friends and family say she was subjected to a “shocking and violent assault” at Bibey’s hands and that she’s “lucky” to still be alive after the attack. In fact, she was so injured from the attack that police were unable to question her for nearly a week.
- She required several operations. Platt’s lawyer, Stefano Goldstein, told MailOnline: “My client Jennie was the victim of terrible assault and needed several operations during a lengthy stay in hospital. She has cooperated fully with the authorities who are investigating the matter and we expect the case to be closed within the next few days but for Jennie the trauma of what happened will not end as she will need medical care in England. Jennie has explained to the police that the night Ricky died he was completely out of control and that he had attacked her.”
- Platt is struggling to come to terms with what happened. Not only is she dealing with the fact that she was viciously attacked by a man who was supposed to love her, but she’s also dealing with the fact that he had a heart attack and died in the process. Platt’s friends say that on top of the trauma from the attack, which has left her with “several serious injuries” and is currently forcing her to use a wheelchair, coping with what’s happened has been extremely difficult.
- Bibey apparently suffered from mental health issues. According to a family friend, “Ricky had suffered mental health issues in recent times and experienced a serious downturn in the last six months. He had been in and out of various centres and this trip was to try and get him back on track, but it ended in tragedy.” Toxicology reports are yet to be confirmed, but police believe Bibey had taken cocaine and alcohol which triggered the heart attack.
