Grieving Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe was comforted by a close female friend as he broke cover on Monday – days after his fiancée’s mystery cruise ship death.
Kimberly Burch, 56, fell ‘from a room balcony’ on the first night of The 80s Cruise on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Explorer of the Seas on March 2 – after an alleged ‘heated’ argument with the rocker, 60.
Hours after it emerged Burch’s final moments had been captured on a disturbing video, Downe was seen back at his LA home with a female pal, who Daily Mail can exclusively reveal is writer and hairstylist Stormy Lee Rollins
The musician escorted Rollins out of his home after a visit, as questions continue to swirl over realtor Burch’s final hours and the exact circumstances of her fall.
Rollins paid an emotional tribute to her close friend Burch last week following her shock death, sharing a photo captioned: ‘My heart is broken.’
She has closed her Seattle barber shop for two weeks to jet to LA to support Downe, posting last week: ‘I have an emergency in LA and will be back cutting on 3/18.’
Grieving Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe was comforted by a close female friend as he broke cover on Monday – days after his fiancée’s mystery cruise ship death
Kimberly Burch, 56, fell to her death ‘from a room balcony’ on the first night of The 80s Cruise on March 2 – after an alleged ‘heated’ argument with the rocker, 60. Pictured: Burch and Downe hours before her death
The Daily Mail has identified the woman as writer Stormy Lee Rollins, who is a close friend of Taime
Rollins has worked in the music industry for years, touring with acts including Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson.
She appears to have first met Downe in their mutual home town of Seattle.
While it’s unclear how long Downe and Rollins have been friends, she posed with him and Burch in August 2023 in a snap posted by the rocker, captioned: ‘Great day seeing some of my wonderful hometown friends!’
Downe has yet to make any public statement on the death of his partner of six years.
A Royal Caribbean Group spokesman confirmed the death to Daily Mail last week: ‘Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort, is working with local authorities, and we are providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time.
‘To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share.’
Burch had traveled on the seven day cruise to support Downe, who was performing with the punk band. The cruise departed from Miami and was set to visit Nassau, San Juan, and Labadee.
Just hours before her death she posed for a picture with Downe on the ship and wrote: ‘We made it to @the80scruise.’
The grieving musician escorted Rollins out of his home, little over a week after Burch’s shock death
Downe has returned to Los Angeles after the shock loss of his fiancée
Downe bid Rollins farewell at the gate of his home
The star was breaking cover after the tragic death of Burch
Rollins looked devastated as she headed to her car
It is unclear how long Rollins and Downe have been friends for but Rollins (in green) posed with him and Burch in August 2023 in a snap posted by the rocker
Rollins’ barber shop Instagram page announced she would be off for two weeks due to an ’emergency’ in LA
Rollins paid an emotional tribute to her close friend Burch last week following her shock death, sharing a photo captioned: ‘My heart is broken’
Kimberly had traveled on the seven day cruise to support Downe, who was performing with the punk band. The cruise departed from Miami (pictured Explorer of the Seas)
A source close to Burch exclusively told Daily Mail that Downe and Burch were overheard ‘loudly arguing’ before her tragic death. Pictured: a room and balcony on Explorer of the Seas
After The 80s Cruise, Faster Pussycat were set to embark on the Monsters of Rock Cruise from March 10 to 15, which was setting sail from Miami. But this trip was cancelled after Burch’s death.
Burch is believed to have fallen into the water roughly 20 miles off the shore of Freeport, Bahamas, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson said.
The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter crew and other personnel to assist the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in their search – which was later suspended. Burch’s body has not been recovered.
Downe was reportedly questioned by police when the ship docked at the Port Of Miami after the death but was later released.
On Monday, it was revealed video had been captured of Burch’s last moments alive – with the realtor allegedly seen ‘climbing the ship’s rail and taking a step off’ in the clip.
The video is now with Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in Florida and MDSO confirmed to TMZ the investigation is still ongoing.
Downe’s bandmates disembarked the ship at the Port of Miami around 6:45am local time after Burch’s death and waited for ‘several hours for their lead singer to join them’ as police launched their investigation.
A source close to Burch exclusively told Daily Mail last week that Downe and Burch were overheard ‘loudly arguing’ before her tragic death.
The insider said: ‘The argument was in their cabin, their neighbors heard only yelling but nothing specific being yelled out.
‘Their relationship looked amazing otherwise, there was never any complaints, little or big from either of them, they seemed to be in love with each other, very much.’
The source added they had heard ‘scattered stories Burch was drunk’ on the night of her death but said Burch ‘didn’t really drink and had helped Downe with his sobriety’.
Burch is said to have gone overboard at around 11pm PST – with a guest claiming on X she had ‘jumped from the balcony of her 8th floor room’ 80 miles from Miami.
They wrote: ‘Currently on the #RCL Explorer of the Seas for the #80scruise. Unfortunately, we have a “woman overboard’ situation and boats have been deployed. We are currently 80+ miles from Miami at 11pm PST. Not good.
‘It looks like the woman “jumped” from the balcony of her 8th floor room after an argument with her partner. This is our 15th cruise, and the first time we’ve actually experienced this.
‘Clearly, the priority is recovering the woman. And the boat has turned around and is at a dead stop. They have deployed boats for the search. Could be a long night….’
Another guest wrote: ‘Person overboard on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. On the 80s Cruise. Just saw a great show by Squeeze, then it was announced a person is overboard. Ship is stopped and searching. Other nearby ships helping.’
TMZ reported that Burch’s final moments were captured on video – with the realtor allegedly seen ‘climbing the ship’s rail and taking a step off’ in the clip
Downe, 60, is the lead vocalist of the iconic 80s metal band – pictured in 2013 with Xristian Simon, Danny Nordahl and Ace Von Johnson
Kinberly’s mom Carnell had previously claimed her daughter was drinking on the cruise, which was ‘out of character for her’
Guests aboard the ship posted messages about the search on X
Downe (pictured) was seen in an obscene on stage rant just moments before his fiancée plunged to her death from a cruise ship
Right before the horrific incident, Downe was seen performing on the ship, ending his show shouting: ‘It’s all about the p**** motherf***er!
A passenger also told THR: ‘There was an announcement over the PA saying someone went overboard so the ship was going to stop and turn around to try and locate the person.
‘[The] ship was stopped for a few hours. Safety boats were deployed with floodlights to illuminate the surrounding area. Another cruise ship nearby had its floodlights on searching as well. My wife spoke with some people on one of the decks saying they heard that it was a woman and it was caught on camera. Can’t confirm though.
‘Eventually the ship powered up and off we went. This morning a PA announcement said that the US Coast Guard had taken over the search. We arrived at Nassau, Bahamas a few hours behind schedule. No excursions were canceled. Haven’t heard anything since.’
In a video taken by one of the passengers, a member of the crew could be heard announcing that the incident had occurred.
A man’s voice rang out over a loudspeaker: ‘We do actually have a person overboard, and just to advise you, the captain has turned the ship around and we are actively seeking for the person who was reported to go overboard.’
The announcement continued: ‘We are following all of our visual protocols and we will keep you updated with the progress.’
Grieving family members of Burch publicly demanded answers over the death in an exclusive interview with Daily Mail last week.
Downe called Burch’s mom Carnell to notify her of her daughter’s heartbreaking death on Monday, March 3 – but Burch’s sister-in-law, Kellie Burch, said that the family had not heard from him since.
‘We haven’t spoken to him,’ said Kellie of Downe. ‘He called my mother-in-law to notify her, but she hasn’t had any contact with him since then. None of us have.’
Both Kellie and Carnell say they don’t believe Burch would intentionally harm herself.
‘She wouldn’t do that,’ Kellie said. ‘It’s just not her.’
Kellie declined to comment when asked about the couple’s relationship history.
‘All we want is answers. We’ve had absolutely zero contact with the cruise company. We’ve emailed, we’ve called, and nobody has gotten back to us.’
Kellie said the Royal Caribbean’s lack of communication is unacceptable.
In the meantime, she said all her family can do is pray and continue to support each other until answers are forthcoming.
‘She was the life of the party and the light of the room,’ added Kellie of Burch.
‘I last heard from her about a week ago […] she was looking forward to the trip.
‘We are doing as well as we possibly can be while we wait.’
Carnell had previously claimed to TMZ her daughter was drinking on the cruise, which was ‘out of character for her’. She added that her daughter had an argument with Taime before her death.
Carnell said her daughter was not suffering from depression or emotional issues at the time and was excited for the trip, which was in its first day and featured musical acts including Squeeze, Adam Ant, Tiffany and Men at Work.
Kimberly is pictured with Taime and his mother in Seattle 2023
Kimberly is pictured in an Instagram post from 2022
Kimberly and Taime had been together for around six years
Kimberly was drinking on the cruise, her mom Carnell said, which was ‘out of character for her’
Glam metal band Faster Pussycat formed in 1985 comprised of Downe, guitarists Greg Steele and Brent Muscat and bassist Kelly Nickels.
They forged a successful career over the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling over two million records worldwide
They have released four albums, Faster Pussycat (1987), Wake Me When It’s Over (1989), Whipped! (1992) and The Power and the Glory Hole (2006).
They broke up in 1993, but reformed in 2001.
Former drummer Brett Bradshaw died on March 26, 2021, at age 50.
