The parents have now told the paper that their daughter died back in July, as a result of an unmanageable battle with unspecified addictions. According to them, she dealt with the trauma of sexual abuse with addictive substances. Her figure skating partner John Coughlin was supposed to repeatedly do this to her.
Namiotka accused Coughlin of sexual abuse in 2019 after the figure skater committed suicide.
“I’m sorry, but John hurt at least ten people, including me. He sexually abused me for two years,” wrote Namiotka on Facebook at the time under the news of Coughlin’s suicide.
The native of Pennsylvania formed a sports duo with Coughlin, who is four years older, from 2004 to 2007, i.e. when she was 14 to 17 years old. Together, they won, among other things, three major medals at the Junior Grand Prix. In the 2006/2007 season, they won bronze in the Czech Republic as part of this series.
However, acting alongside Coughlin probably ruined her life.
US Olympian Ashley Wagner has come forward with sexual assault allegations against fellow figure skater John Coughlin, who died six months ago. https://t.co/rU5umjhs5z
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) August 1, 2019
“Bridget succumbed to long-term addiction issues that followed difficult years of sexual abuse trauma,” the parents told USA Today.
“She was a beautiful child and a great athlete. We are devastated by this. Our hope is that Bridget’s death will draw more attention to the terrible consequences of sexual abuse and addiction in our society,” the parents emphasized in an interview.
After Namiotka went public with her story, Olympic bronze medalist and world runner-up Ashley Wagner also accused Coughlin of sexual abuse.
