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Blur Drummer Dave Rowntree Inherits Sum in Ex-Wife’s Will
London, UK – Dave Rowntree, the drummer for the iconic Britpop band Blur, has inherited a significant sum from his former wife’s will. Paola Marra, who was married to the musician from 1994 until their divorce in the early 2000s, had chosen to end her life due to a terminal illness. Despite their separation, Rowntree offered support to Marra following her diagnosis of terminal bowel cancer and her decision to seek assisted dying at Dignitas in Zurich, Switzerland.
Paola Marra’s Choice of Assisted Dying
Terminal Illness and Dignitas Journey
After undergoing extensive and arduous treatment and surgeries, Paola Marra made the decision to travel alone to Dignitas in March of the previous year. Confronted with a terminal prognosis, she wished to avoid a drawn-out and painful death, a concern amplified by her allergy to conventional painkillers. Nations such as Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand permit terminally ill adults to pursue voluntary assisted dying.
Marra’s will, valued at £941,000, included a bequest of nearly £1 million distributed to her two brothers and two sisters. A specific sum of £50,000 was allocated to her ex-husband, Dave Rowntree, and £4,000 was designated for each of four charities. Additionally, £10,000 was left to a friend entrusted with the care of her pets.
Rowntree’s Criticism of UK Assisted Dying Laws
‘Psychopathic’ Legislation
Following Marra’s passing, Rowntree publicly expressed his dismay with the existing UK laws that compel terminally ill individuals into a ‘brutal’ situation, where they desire to end their suffering but are legally prohibited from seeking assistance.
Six months after his ex-wife’s death at Dignitas in Switzerland, the musician described the UK’s current assisted dying laws as ‘psychopathic,’ criticising their apparent lack of “empathy for the sufferer.” Public sentiment, alongside prominent figures like Dame Esther Rantzen, is increasingly urging the government to follow the lead of countries like New Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia in allowing terminally ill adults the autonomy to choose when to end their lives.
In a candid interview, Rowntree condemned the legal position on assisted dying, stating: “It is the system washing its hands of difficult problems in a way that I can’t stomach. That’s the whole point of the state… And if the state isn’t going to take these kind of difficult decisions, what the f**k is the point in having the state? This is psychopathic, where we are now, because the whole point of this [should be] to try to make things easier for the real victim in this – the terminally ill person.”
The drummer, who also experienced the loss of his father to bowel cancer in the preceding year, revealed his initial attempts to dissuade his former wife from travelling to Switzerland. He had hoped for a peaceful death at home in London. Despite his efforts, when she resolved to proceed with Dignitas, he offered to accompany her but was prevented by the risk of prosecution for assisting suicide under current UK legislation.
Heartbreaking Final Moments and Plea for Legal Reform
Change of Heart and Posthumous Message
Tragically, Paola Marra experienced a change of heart and pleaded with Dave Rowntree to join her in Zurich after she had arrived. The musician recounted how his former partner conveyed her uncertainty, saying, “I don’t know if I can do this on my own,” prompting him to immediately search for flights. However, she contacted him again, insisting he should not come, and she passed away alone the following morning.
Rowntree reflected on the stark reality that anyone suspected of assisting a loved one to end their life faces a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years. He lamented: “It’s utterly brutal for the ill person because anyone they tell is potentially at risk of arrest, so they have to creep around like a criminal.” Following her passing, Paola Marra left a poignant video message, imploring lawmakers to amend the UK’s “cruel law” against assisted dying.
In a video released posthumously, she declared: “When you watch this, I will be dead. I’m choosing to seek assisted dying because I refuse to let a terminal illness dictate the terms of my existence. The pain and suffering can become unbearable. It’s a slow erosion of dignity, the loss of independence, the stripping away of everything that makes life worth living.”
“Assisted dying is not about giving up. In fact, it’s about reclaiming control. It’s not about death, it’s about dignity. It’s about giving people the right to end their suffering on their own terms, with compassion and respect. So, as you watch this, I am dead. But you watching this could help change the laws around assisted dying.”