EXCLUSIVE: Haunting last images of rugby star Ricky Bibey and his lover walking to their hotel with a mystery couple at 4am – just hours before he died ‘in a sex game gone wrong’

• These are the last images of rugby league player Ricky Bibey and his girlfriend hours before he died ‘in a sex game gone wrong’
• Footage shows Bibey and his girlfriend walking towards their hotel at 4am
• The exclusive video is timed at just after 4.10am outside a hotel in Florence
• They are walking alongside a mystery couple who have not been identified

These are the last images of rugby league player Ricky Bibey and his girlfriend hours before he died ‘in a sex game gone wrong’ – walking towards their hotel at 4am with a mystery couple.

MailOnline found the CCTV footage from cameras close to the four-star luxury hotel where father-of-two Bibey, 40, was found dead early last Saturday morning.

His 44-year-old partner – who we are not identifying – raised the alarm after running from their first floor room semi naked, covered in blood and screaming for help.

The exclusive video was taken just after 4.10am and shows the woman – an upmarket estate agent from Manchester – walking down a side street close to the Hotel Continentale in Florence, Italy, where they were staying.

Wearing a sleeveless long dress and sandals, the woman appears first in the footage followed a second later by Mr Bibey and a mystery couple who have not been identified.

CCTV footage was obtained from cameras close to the four-star luxury hotel where father-of-two Bibey, 40, was found dead early last Saturday morning. An unidentified man is wearing a blue T-shirt, standing at the back next to Mr Bibey in white shorts and trainers

The footage shows the woman – an upmarket estate agent from Manchester – walking down a side street close to the Hotel Continentale in Florence, Italy, where they were staying. Mr Bibey is seen wearing a light top and shorts, in the centre, while the unidentified woman with him is wearing a red dress

Ricky Bibey, of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, was found dead in his hotel in Florence. His 44-year-old partner raised the alarm after running from their first floor room semi naked, covered in blood screaming for help

Appearing slightly unsteady on her feet the woman reaches into her handbag before going out of shot while Mr Bibey and the other couple follow behind.

Mr Bibey is seen wearing a light top and shorts, while the unidentified woman with him is wearing a red dress and appears to be pointing at something ahead of them as they talk.

The unidentified man is wearing a blue T-shirt, white shorts and trainers and both he and the woman appear to be much younger than Mr Bibey and the woman.

Less than three hours after the footage was taken paramedics are at the scene after being called by the woman but the former sports star was declared dead at the scene.

An autopsy confirmed the rugby league player died from a heart attack with police convinced it was caused through a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol

An autopsy carried out later confirmed he died from a heart attack with police convinced it was caused through a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol.

The couple had only checked into the four star Hotel Continentale in the day before, after landing at Pisa airport and then heading out for the night.

MailOnline knows the identity of the woman – an upmarket estate agent from Manchester who has appeared on TV – and she is still recovering in hospital after suffering severe injuries requiring several operations.

Investigators believe she may have been forced into some form of erotic game and then tried to fight off Mr Bibey, as the postmortem revealed wounds on his wrists and necks.

They are yet to question the woman formally and at length as she is still recovering from a series of operations.

A judicial source told MailOnline: ‘The post mortem has confirmed the man died from a cardiac arrest but we are still waiting for full toxicology results to see what was in his system.

‘We believe he had taken drugs and alcohol in large quantities and this resulted in his death, there were no signs of a violent death. There are scratch marks on his hands, wrists and forearms and these appear to be defensive.

‘The theory we are working on is that they were caused by the woman after possibly being forced into some form of erotic game which she didn’t want to do.

‘We have only spoken briefly and informally to her and she has said she was not into violent sex or erotic games.’

Police and prosecutor Ester Nocera hope to question the woman formally on Thursday or Friday with the help of a translator and members of her family have also arrived in Italy.

The four-star continental Hotel in Florence, Italy, where a sex game went tragically wrong for the couple, is pictured 

Room 102 of the hotel room is pictured. The couple had only checked into the hotel in the day before, after landing at nearby Pisa airport and then headed out for the night

Forensic teams are examining the couple’s mobile telephones and items seized from the first floor hotel room and trawling CCTV footage.

Tests carried out at the Careggi hospital where the woman is being treated and before she was operated on, have shown the woman also had drugs in her body.

A file for ‘manslaughter against persons unknown’ has been opened by the prosecutor but no third party is being hunted and officials explained it was a formality as the death was still unexplained until toxicology results return.

A judicial source added: ‘There are several strands to the investigation, obviously we want to know what happened in the hotel room but as we believe drugs were also involved. Where did they get them from?

‘Did they bring them from England or did they buy them locally? That’s why we are going back through the events of that night and are speaking to witnesses in the hotel and elsewhere in the city.

‘Staff at the hotel said they returned around 4am on Saturday and were in high spirits and then just under three hours later emergency services were called and the man was found dead.’

Emergency services vehicles gathered outside the hotel in Florence after the tragic death

Ricky, who was born in Leigh near Wigan, Greater Manchester, made his professional rugby league debut in 2001 for Wigan Warriors, also making appearances for Leigh Centurions, St Helens and Wakefield Trinity.

He won the Challenge Cup twice and also played on three occasions for England in international competitions, before being forced to retire early in May 2012 due to an Achilles tendon injury.

The prop Ricky, who lived in an £800,000 home in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, had been running a window cleaning business and property venture since retiring.

Hotel Continentale is just 30 yards from the famous Ponte Vecchio, close to the heart of the historic city which is popular with British holidaymakers, with former PM Tony Blair and Prince Charles being previous visitors.

Travel guides describe the plush riverside hostelry as ‘playfully chic’ boasting its own rooftop bar and spa aimed at ‘honeymooners and those looking for a romantic weekend’.

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