 And so, dear readers, our story draws to a close.....
The body of the missing Earl of Shaftesbury has been found in the south of France, according to his sister.
| "Ewwwww! Jean-Claude! What izzat smell?" |
Lady Frances Ashley-Cooper said French police are due to carry out a post-mortem examination and DNA tests before formally identifying the body. Decomposing remains were discovered on Tuesday afternoon in the French Alps about 30 miles from Nice.
"Veronique! It is the decomposing remains of poor Milord Shaftesbury!"
"Oh, the poor man!"
"Call the gendarmes! And tell them to bring air freshener!" |
The Dorset earl, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, who had homes in Sussex and London, had been missing for five months. His estranged third wife, Jamila M'Barek, 37, and her brother, Mohammed M'Barek, 40, were both arrested on suspicion of murder.
"Milady Shaftsbury?"
"Yes?"
"Stick 'em up!" |
Jamila M'Barek has allegedly confessed to playing a part in the earl's disappearance. She is undergoing treatment for depression at a prison hospital in Nice.
| "Oh! I am in prison! And it's so depressing!" |
Ms M'Barek's lawyer Franck De Vita said at the end of February that she was blaming her brother for the earl's murder.
| "Yes, that's correct, M. l'Inspecteur! It was not me! He dunnit!" |
Mohammed M'Barek was arrested in Munich, Germany, and has also been placed under investigation for murder after being extradited to France.
| "Package for M. l'Inspecteur! Sign here, please!" |
It will be some time before the body is officially identified and a cause of death established, but a post mortem and DNA tests are due to be carried out.
Goodbye, Earl.. |