Kasey-Lei Greene, 13, from Sutton Coldfield, has tragically died after suddenly becoming ill while watching a film with a friend in Abu Dhabi where her family had moved
A “bubbly and very outgoing” teenager has tragically died after suddenly falling ill while watching a film at a cinema.
Kasey-Lei Greene, 13, from Sutton Coldfield, collapsed while enjoying a trip out with a friend on Thursday, September 4. She had moved to Abu Dhabi with her family 14 months ago to start a new life and she suddenly became ill at the Vox Cinema at the Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and while medics tried to resuscitate her for two hours both at the scene and at a hospital she tragically died of a cardiac arrest. Her dad Marc, 37, said: “(Her friend) called me from Kasey’s phone and said ‘Kasey’s passed out’.
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“I literally ran to the car. The cinema is not even half a mile from my house. She had passed out in the cinema watching the movie. Over there, they are on it straight away. They had a defibrillator and an ambulance crew had come in 10 minutes and had a machine on her.
“I was literally screaming, holding her hand. I let them do what they could, but I could see she had gone. Officially, her death is a cardiac arrest. She had had a few issues before.”
On their final moment together before Kasey left for the cinema, dad Marc said: “She just grabbed me and said to her friend ‘quick, take a picture of me and my dad’. She didn’t check it.
“She held me so tight like she knew that was the last time I would ever feel or hear her voice again. Normally she would plan it and add filters and redo it if it wasn’t right – but not this time. That hug blows my mind.”
The Greene family had moved to Abu Dhabi in July 2024, and had bought a house off-plan which was being built for them to move into next year, reported BirminghamLive. Describing Kasey, Marc and her mum Manda and her said she was ‘bubbly, very outgoing but also dippy’. She used to ‘really love little kids’.
Marc said: “She had very different circles of friends and did try and bring people together. The priest at her funeral said she was sent as an influencer and influenced people to come together. He said the whole time he has been at that church he had never seen that turnout. There was 600 there or more.”
He continued: “She made friends very easily. From all walks of life. She would bring people home and her friends would call us aunty and uncle. Our house was like a meeting place.”
While Manda, 36, said: “She drew people to her. One girl came up and said ‘you’re really beautiful’. She went out and just found people.” And she added: “But behind all the dippiness, she was intelligent and tough. She always had a back-up plan for everything.”
Kasey was a massive Aston Villa fan and also loved American rapper Travis Scott who she was looking forward to see in Abu Dhabi next month. Her funeral took place on October 3 back in the UK with pink and black ribbons tied on the funeral procession route from Marc’s mum’s house in Erdington to Erdington Abbey in Sutton Road, where more than 600 people turned out to pay their respects.
Many more also watched a live stream of the funeral, including Kasey’s friends and classmates back in Abu Dhabi. Kasey’s mum Manda has suffered a double tragedy. She was back in the UK arranging her mum, Maggie’s funeral, when Kasey collapsed and passed away in Abu Dhabi. Maggie was only 65.
The day before Kasey’s funeral 50 people went out and put pink and black ribbons on the funeral procession route on Chester Road, black being her favourite colour. Dad Marc said: “I have received thousands of messages. I am finding lots of comfort in people’s acknowledgment of her.
“I have been on auto-pilot since it happened. The last couple of days I think it’s got a little bit tougher.” But he said: “Kian’s given us strength. He’s never known life without her. It’s got to be a lot harder on him. They were very close.”
In Kasey’s memory, the family have started a GoFundMe page, Kasey’s Wells of Life to pay for water wells in Africa. Dad, Marc, said: “This stems from her friend TJ who is from a Muslim background. When somebody dies they do something good in the world.
“So we are looking to buy three £1,500 pumps in Kenya, Tanzania and Cameroon which provide water for crops to grow food and water for 30 years. And 10 £150 pumps which provide drinking water for 10 to 15 years. Manda went on safari to Africa a ‘beautiful country’ and saw ‘first-hand’ how those pumps will help people.”