Television channel Sky News identified 63-year-old Brenda Leyland as an online "troll" who had attacked Kate and Gerry McCann under the Twitter name "sweepyface." Last week a reporter confronted Leyland on camera about the alleged abuse.
Leicestershire Police said the body of a 63-year-old woman was found in a hotel in Leicester, central England, on Saturday. The force said the death is not being treated as suspicious.
Sky News said today it was saddened by Leyland's death but that it would be "inappropriate to speculate or comment further."