A British mother has been found dead in her Ibiza Rocks Hotel room by her devastated sister after dying in her sleep during a girls trip to the party island.
Amy Connor, 23, was staying at the famous party destination in the resort town of San Antonio, with her sibling, Toni, 26, and cousin, Alison.
The group, from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, had been sunbathing before going back to their room to rest on August 20.
Speaking for the first time since her sister’s tragic death, Toni recalled the horrifying moment she found Amy’s lifeless body.
‘We had been down to the pool and then came back up to the room for a while, so Amy got into the shower and then got into bed,’ she said.
‘I went and sat out on the balcony and ate some crisps and chilled and when I came back in, she was still in the bed. It was so surreal, it didn’t make sense. It was just such a shock.’
Spanish police have not yet commented about what they believed caused Amy’s death.
Amy Connor, 23, was staying at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in the resort town San Antonio, where her body was found by her sibling, Toni, 26
Amy – right – was enjoying a holiday on the Spanish party island with her sister, Toni, left, when the tragedy happened
Ibiza Rocks advertises itself as ‘the home of the pool party’ and is known for its lively DJ sets featuring stars including Craig David, Rudimental, DJ EZ and Sonny Fodera.
Three weeks’ ago it hosted a set by Fatboy Slim while Jane Park, who became the EuroMillions winner in 2017, was also a recent visitor.
Guests can watch performances by the pool from their balconies and there is also a rooftop with views out to the sea.
Toni, who is in her second year studying journalism at Ulster University, praised the staff at the hotel for their ‘gob-smacking generosity in our time of need’.
She said: ‘Trying to get home was an absolute nightmare, we had to fly into Majorca, then into Dublin and then from Dublin up home
‘But the hotel staff were incredible, we couldn’t have asked for better. They went as far as making us priority booking, they paid for our cases. I had given them my card to sort our travel home and I told them I didn’t care what it cost just to get us home.
‘They even offered to fly us via London but we would have had to stay overnight in London and they offered to pay for that hotel too but we just wanted to get home as quick as we could. They packed our cases, they looked after us giving us food and water, you name it they brought it to us, I was so gob-smacked at their generosity in our time of need.’
Toni said the local community have also rallied around the family and explained how Amy touched the lives of so many people in her short life.
She added: ‘Amy is the kind of person if you met her once you’d definitely remember her, she was very out there, she’s so friendly and outgoing and she knows everyone, so we have been overwhelmed by the amount of people getting in touch since the news.
‘It’s no exaggeration when I say I have had over 1,000 messages sent to me just on Facebook, there have been bunches of flowers and cards and everything sent to the house, people have been so generous.
‘Amy was the kind of person who was friends with everyone, it never made a difference what side of the town they were from, she was just friends with everyone and that’s what everyone loved about her.’
As well as her heartbroken parents Carol McKibbin and Arthur Connor, stepfather Campbell Kennedy, siblings Aaron John, Jean and Toni, Amy also leaves behind her three-year-old daughter Kaliyah.
‘Kaliyah’s been staying with me since,’ said Toni. ‘It’s heartbreaking.’
Amy, left, with Toni in one of the last photos posted during their holiday trip to Ibiza
The Ibiza Rocks Hotel Resort – which has hundreds of rooms grouped around a central courtyard with a pool
Recalling Amy’s fun-loving nature, Toni said the close-knit family are feeling the void left by their beloved sister and daughter.
She said: ‘Amy was so kind, so bubbly she was always smiling, she loved to sing and dance in the car, I have millions of videos of Amy and she’s singing a song in nearly every one, she was just the life and soul of every party. Even if something bothered Amy, she wouldn’t let anyone really know it bothered her, she just got on with it.
‘There are four of us, three girls and my older brother but us three girls, Amy, Jean and I would have always been with each other, we would have had video chats every morning, when she is not there, you definitely notice it, it’s just not the same.’
The family are now planning to give Amy a send-off fit for a princess, as her sisters and friends plan to carry her coffin as they say their final farewell today.
She added: ‘We ordered her a pink coffin with diamonds the whole way around it, it was specially made for her and is engraved to say Princess, so it will look gorgeous for her. They said they had never made a coffin like it before and I thought that sounds right, Amy was one of a kind.
‘The girls are going to lift the coffin and we want to give her the best send-off possible.’
Toni earlier paid a tribute to her sister on Facebook, writing: ‘I don’t understand how life just goes on.’
Her mother Carol wrote: ‘My baby girl… love you loads.’
Hundreds of friends have paid tribute to Amy, calling her a ‘beautiful soul’ who will be ‘sorely missed’
Hundreds of tributes also poured in from Amy’s friends, including one who wrote: ‘I knew Amy as a wee teenager who used to come into my place of work at the time in Coleraine and she was always such a wee ball of energy.’
Another said: ‘My heart is breaking for yous all no words will ever help but I believe your baby girl Amy will give yous all the strength to cope in the long difficult road ahead! Fly high with the angels Amy Connor.’
A third friend wrote: ‘Amy, you were most beautiful soul. Honestly I’m so shocked that you have gone to heaven.
‘Please look over your family. You will be sorely missed by all of us, my heart breaks for you all.’