Trinity graduate and German blogger Dr Marie Sophie Hingst, who obtained a PhD in College in 2017, has been found dead in her home in Dublin.
According to an article published in the Irish Times today, Hingst was found dead in her bed on July 17th. Autopsy results have yet to confirm the cause of death. The Irish Times reported that police have said there was no sign of third-party involvement.
Hingst was a graduate fellow at the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute from 2015 to 2017.
In June, German publication Der Spiegel reported that Hingst had been accused of inventing relatives that she said had perished in the Holocaust, and submitting their names to the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre.
The Irish Times today reported that Hingst’s mother, Cornelia Hingst, said her daughter had struggled with mental health issues.
Hingst’s PhD, which was published in September 2017, focused on English colonial tactics in 17th-century Ireland. She was supervised by Trinity lecturers Micheál Ó Siochrú and Mark Hennessy.
Her funeral will take place in her hometown of Wittenberg on July 31st.
Correction: 19.41, July 28th, 2019
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Dr Marie Sophie Hingst was accused of inventing relatives that she said had survived the Holocaust. In fact, Hingst was accused of inventing relatives she said had perished in the Holocaust.
If you have been affected by, or would like to discuss any issues raised by this piece, you can contact the Welfare Officer of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union by emailing [email protected]. Emergency appointments with the Student Counselling Service are also available. You can phone Niteline, the student listening service, every night of term from 9pm–2:30am on 1800 793 793, or the Samaritans at any time on 116 123.
