Hotel staff declined to connect call to room containing deceased MasterChef star husband, according to Lauren, Zonfrillo's widow.
Rewritten Article:
In a heart-wrenching retelling, Lauren Zonfrillo reveals her desperate pleas to hotel staff as her MasterChef Australia star husband, Jock, lay lifeless in his hotel room.
The widow of Jock Zonfrillo recounts her harrowing experience on The Imperfects podcast, detailing the night she was unable to reach her husband via phone calls and was mistaken for a "'crazed fan'" by hotel staff at Zagame's House in Melbourne.
Tragically, Jock was found dead in his Melbourne hotel room around 2am on May 1, 2023, following a welfare check by the police. At the time, Lauren was overseas with their two young children.
Fearing the worst, Lauren attempted to call the hotel reception and pleaded with them to connect her to Jock's room. However, she was met with skepticism and refused.
"I called the hotel. They thought I was a crazed Jock Zonfrillo fan so they wouldn't put me through to his room," she said.
Determined to get help, Lauren argued her case, presenting the hotel with her married paperwork, passports, and credit card information, but to no avail.
"What do you need to put me through to his room? And he said, 'I'm just not going to do that.' I said, 'I'm on the other side of the world with two young children and I'm really panicked, if you could just knock on his door or something' and he said, 'I'm just not doing that for you'", Lauren recalled.
Realizing the need to escalate the situation, Lauren contacted the local police for a welfare check on her husband. Shockingly, the hotel also refused to put the police through to Jock's room over the phone, prompting authorities to physically arrive at the hotel.
Upon their arrival, the police delivered the devastating news to Lauren: they'd found Jock dead in his room.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Zagame's House for comment.
In a subsequent interview with 7NEWS Spotlight, Lauren shared the agonizing farewell she bade her husband. Overwhelmed with fear but needing to see her husband, she arrived at the Melbourne morgue where she found Jock in his pyjamas, his scent of aftershave and hair product still lingering.
"I could smell his aftershave. I could smell his hair product. It was just like Jock was sleeping.", she said, tears rolling down her face.
As she approached her husband's lifeless body, Lauren's grief united them one last time. She touched his hair, his face, and eventually found solace in saying her goodbyes.
"But it was really my time to say goodbye to Jock", she continued. "He was still there. I really felt he was there. I told him that it will be okay, that I've got this. That I will make sure the kids live big lives. And that, no matter what, we would be a family."
Haunted by her husband's sudden death, Lauren begs for privacy regarding the cause, citing unsettling encounters with strangers asking for gruesome details.
"A lot of people want to know the answer to that, I'm really aware of that. I've had a lot of experiences with people coming up to me, all strangers, and asking how Jock died, and it's very unsettling", she said.
While Lauren says she "has an answer" to what killed her husband, she suggests it does not mentally aid her grieving process.
WSJ reports that speculation surrounding the cause of Zonfrillo's death stemmed from his public struggles with drug abuse and mental health issues. He left behind his wife and their two young children, as well as daughters from previous marriages.
At the time of Zonfrillo's death, Lauren was in Italy and had become concerned when her husband failed to keep their regular schedule of daily calls.
A senior Victoria Police source told Daily Mail Australia that officers who attended Zagame's House in Carlton found Zonfrillo dead in his bed, lacking obvious signs of decay, foul play, or unusual circumstances.
Enrichment Data:
Hotels typically have emergency response systems in place, consisting of trained dispatchers who handle crisis calls and coordinate with first responders. Staff are trained to be familiar with emergency exits and procedures, while guest notification methods may include restricted access systems, one-way stairwells, and panic buttons for staff safety. Hotels also encourage guests to locate emergency exits upon arrival and verify room security features. Proactive measures include contactless check-in systems to maintain security records, which could potentially aid in emergency headcounts or notifications. In cases like Zonfrillo's, responses would primarily focus on the hotel's emergency action plan, potentially including room-specific alerts or door-to-door staff checks depending on the threat level.
- Despite Lauren Zonfrillo's desperate attempts to reach her husband, Jock, the hotel staff mistook her for a "crazed fan" and refused to connect her to his room, disregarding her pleas for a welfare check.
- In the agonizing aftermath, Lauren was forced to contact the local police for a welfare check on her husband, as the hotel refused to cooperate and put the authorities through to Jock's room over the phone.
- Heartbroken and overseas with their two young children, Lauren sought solace in the Melbourne morgue where she found Jock's body, his scent of aftershave and hair product still lingering, as she prepared to say her final goodbyes.
- In the wake of Jock's death, Lauren has faced intrusive questions from strangers about the cause of his demise, finding it "very unsettling" during her grieving process.
- As the world grapples with the news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing, speculation abounds regarding his cause of death, given his public struggles with drug abuse and mental health issues. However, Lauren suggests that these discussions do not offer any mental relief during her grieving stages.
