Jill Dando’s killer may have mistaken her for another BBC journalist who was the real target of an assassination plot, astonishing documents submitted to a Paris court suggest.
According to the extraordinary claims of the newspapers, Lisa Brinkworth was murdered by a Russian hitman hired by a French fashion mogul.
Lawyers argue that Miss Dando may have been mistaken for Miss Dando because of striking similarities in appearance and occupation.
The lawyers also note that Miss Dando’s fiance, Alan Farthing, was Miss Brinkworth’s doctor.
Miss Dando was attacked and killed at her Fulham, West London home by Barry George in 1999. He was later convicted and acquitted. The investigation continues.
Jill Dando is pictured with her fiancee Alan Farthing in 1999, months before she was gunned down on the doorstep of her home in Fulham
Lisa Brinkworth (now 55) claims that she was sexually assaulted while undercover with Donal MacIntyre in 1998 to expose fashion-related sex crimes
Gerald Marie (72), the ex-head of Elite modeling agency is under investigation for alleged sexual assaults or rapes that involved at least 11 women.
Miss Brinkworth (55) claims that she sexually assaulted him in 1998, while she was undercover working with Donal McIntyre on a BBC documentary to expose sex crime in fashion.
France’s statute of limitations, however, means sexual abuse claims must be reported within 20 years. Miss Brinkworth lawyers have submitted papers to Paris’ prosecutor, arguing that because Miss Brinkworth has never been in danger of being hurt again, the statute doesn’t apply to her case.
The ex-BBC journalist was kept in safe houses for years following the exposé and claims she was discouraged from taking legal action against Marie by the corporation.
In 1999, Miss Dando, a Fulham resident, was shot to death.
Gerald Marie (72), the ex-head of Elite modeling agency is under investigation for alleged sexual assaults or rapes that involved at least 11 women
In the documents, the lawyers reference a conversation witnessed by former Elite executive Omar Harfouch in which Marie ordered a member of the Russian mafia to ‘deal with a problem’.
‘Shortly thereafter… a BBC journalist, Jill Dando, was shot dead in April 1999,’ the documents from French law firm Bourdon Associes state.
‘Indeed, these two journalists were in their thirties, were blonde with the same facial features, of the same height and of similar stature. They lived close to each other and had people in common, including the husband of Jill Dando.’
According to the documents, Philippe Berry (an investigative journalist) was told by a source, that Marie boasted that she had paid gangsters in 1999 to intimidate an employee of BBC.
In addition to the documents filed at the Judicial Court of Paris, a partner at a prestigious British law firm wrote to the BBC’s legal director, Nick Wilcox, drawing the same connection in September 2021.
According to the messages, Mr Harfouch participated in a 1999 conversation where a Russian mafia member was asked to murder Miss Brinkworth. He agreed.
Scotland Yard received the evidence. They stated that they would continue investigating any information which may aid in their investigation.
Marie successfully settled with the BBC in 2001 after suing them for £1.7million in damages over the documentary, part of the MacIntyre Undercover series.
In settlement, the corporation was required to cease broadcasting the film.
There is no way to know when Marie’s case will be decided by the Paris prosecutor.
Barry George: My conscience is clear about Jill Dando’s murder. A new documentary shows that a Serbian hit team could be responsible.
- George, who spent seven years in prison for murder, was cleared of killing in 2008.
- Jill Dando, 37, was shot dead outside her west London home on April 26, 1999
For MailOnline, James Wood
Jill Dando, a former Crimewatch hostess has been wrongly convicted. He claims his conscience is clear and that he doesn’t know what he did.
Barry George (now 59) was acquitted of the murder of Sally Dando in 2008. She spent seven years behind bars for Ms Dando’s killing outside of her West London residence on 26 April 1999.
Now, 20 years after the murder, he claims that he was innocent.
A new ITV documentary was released by Jill Dando, The 20 Year Mystery. He said that although he believes he did not do it, he is disappointed that he was pursued in court for what he called ‘no sound proof’.
This documentary airs tonight and features interviews with Dando and Sir Cliff Richard as well as Barry George’s sister Michelle Bates.
The claim is that Dando was killed by a Serbian hit crew. Dando was 37 years old and had just presented a charity appeal in support of Kosovan refugee families. RTS, the Serbian state broadcaster was hit by NATO bombs shortly after.
George answered a question about whether he believes there might be people that still believe he is the one responsible for killing the television host. It was a technicality. However, my conscience was clear. I knew that I had not done it.
Barry George said that on the 20th Anniversary of the murder, he is innocent and that “the truth about the real killer” lies out there.
George feels frustrated that eleven years have passed since his acquittal. This is because George was not sufficiently proven innocent by the Justice Secretary. While the case was again reopened, no arrests have taken place since.
He added, “It’s sad they did this to me. They didn’t have any solid evidence.” You know that the truth about the true killer lies somewhere else.
His original police interview was what he answered when asked how he felt about being interrogated about murder. And just absolute ludicrous. It’s just absurd.
Michelle Bates (the sister of Barry George) is asked to share her thoughts with Ms Dando 20 years after the death.
She stated, “Keep believing and keep praying.” Barry as well as I want Jill killed and brought to justice. The two of us are on the same team.
Michelle Bates says Barry George is an epileptic with learning problems and would have not been capable of murdering Jill Dando.
She stated that Barry would have experienced an epileptic seizure and probably fallen to the ground if he had done this. You see, he wasn’t capable of that.
This documentary airs tonight and features interviews with Dando’s close friend Sir Cliff Richard (left) as well Barry George (right), who discuss new information found in boxes of evidence that were left over from the first trial.
George, a local fantasist and loner, had previously been sentenced for attempted rape. He was found guilty at the Old Bailey on July 1, 2001.
When she was asked about her husband’s history of violence against women, including indecent assault convictions and attempted rape convictions, she replied: “How can you?” That was unacceptable. It was not acceptable.
He couldn’t get to everyone and apologize, but he was able to apologise. It was impossible for him to apologize for Jill Dando’s death, since he wasn’t the one who committed it.
Sir Cliff Richard gives a fascinating insight into Jill Dando’s friend, whom he had met through his fandom.
She was assisted by the legendary singer to plan her wedding to Alan Farthing.
He explained that ‘She was going use my Rolls Royce for her arrival at the church. You know the sad part about that story.
“And she was taken away from us quite cruelly, I feel. It just doesn’t make any sense. It’s still an unsolved mystery that she hasn’t been found her murderer to this day.
Fulham police forensic officers located at Gowan Avenue. This is where Jill Dando, TV host, was killed. A single gunshot to the head killed Ms Dando.
Julie Etchingham, reporter at The Daily Telegraph has the ability to access hundreds of police documents and photos. This allows her to reveal theories and leads that puzzle detectives over the past two decades.
The programme also explores the possibility of a connection with Serbia.
Britain, at the time Jill Dando was murdered, was one of NATO’s major partners in the NATO bombing campaign to Serbia. It was also engaged in an ethnic cleansing campaign against Kosovar Albanians.
Three days prior to the murder, NATO bombs were dropped on RTS, Serbia’s state broadcaster. 16 people died.
Jill Dando made a charitable appeal for Kosovan refugees three weeks before her murder.
Intel reports from the police indicate that Jill Dando was assassinated in revenge for the bombing.
This programme claimed to have discovered an apparently significant error by Operation Oxborough regarding the investigation into Mary’s death.
An unidentified man may have called the BBC a number of times, citing the killing as revenge for RTS’s bombing.
These calls were all recorded by the police, but they did not seem to be connected to the same person.
Police took this call seriously enough to increase security for Tony Hall (now Lord Hall), who at the time was BBC’s Head of News.
According to police, the suspect made another phone call from the same number on April 28. He said: ‘Listen, BBC and you are the voice for your government. That’s why your reporter has died because your government murdered 17 innocent persons.
The police had information about the two second calls but did not link them to the crime scene call. The police were also not able to track the origin of these calls.
Phillip Ingram is a British colonel who was formerly in intelligence for the British army. He believes that the messages could have been used as a plausible claim to the murder.
He added, “That’s important because we would have expected somebody to try and take responsibility on the morning of the murder or shortly afterwards.
“If something significant happens on the date of murder then it is worth asking the question, what could have gone wrong?
Metropolitan Police did NOT believe that the Serbian theory could be trusted. According to them, the case is open. They can only say that they are going to investigate all new information.