Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury (22 May, 1938–2004) was a British aristocrat. In November 2004 he went missing in France having been murdered by his brother-in-law during an argument regarding a divorce from his wife Jamila. On 6 April 2005, Lord Shaftesbury's body was found in the Alps. His widow and her brother were convicted of his murder on 25 May 2007. [1] He inherited the Earldom of Shaftesbury in 1961 from his grandfather, the 9th Earl; his father, Lord Ashley, having died in 1947. He also held the subsidiary titles Baron Ashley and Baron Cooper. Shaftesbury's mother, his father's second wife, was the French-born Françoise Soulier. Lord Shaftesbury, who was educated at Eton and Oxford, had residences in Hove, the City of London, the French Riviera, and Versailles. Although a member of the House of Lords, until the passage of the House of Lords Act in 1999, he rarely attended. His maiden speech was made in 1999.
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Marriages and children
Lord Shaftesbury was married three times. Firstly to Bianca Maria de Paolis, daughter of Gino de Paolis, whom he married in 1966 and divorced in 1976. In 1976, he married, as his second wife, Christina Eva Montan, the daughter of former Ambassador Nils Montan and they had two sons:
- Anthony Nils Christian Ashley-Cooper, 11th Earl of Shaftesbury (1977-2005)
- Nicholas Edmund Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury (b. 3 June 1979)
In 2002, in the Netherlands, he married Jamila Ben M'Barek, a Paris-born nightclub hostess of Tunisian parents. They were separated at the time of his murder.
Murder
In February 2005, Lady Shaftesbury and her brother, Mohammed M'Barek, were arrested by French police on suspicion of murder. According to police, Lady Shaftesbury, after suffering a nervous breakdown, allegedly admitted that her brother and husband got into a fight at her home and that Lord Shaftesbury had been killed. Mohammed later admitted to strangling the lord but claimed that it was accidental, occurring following the consumption of large amounts of alcohol and cannabis.[2] On 6 April 2005, a body in an advanced state of decomposition, was discovered by the police of Nice at Théoule-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritime. It was believed to be that of the late Lord Shaftesbury, and this was confirmed though DNA testing on 18 April. The police had been led to the body by examination of Lord Shaftesbury's mobile phone records and his phone signal. On 30 September 2005 Lord Shaftesbury was laid to rest in the family tomb in the parish church in his family's home village of Wimborne St Giles in Dorset.[3] His widow Jamila, The Countess of Shaftesbury, and her brother Mohammed M'Barek were convicted of his murder on 25 May 2007. [4] Shaftesbury had two children, both with Montan; Anthony, born in 1977 and died in 2005, and Nicholas, born in 1979.
References
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6693763.stm
- ^ "British lord's widow and brother-in-law to stand murder charges", Agence France Presse, 22 October, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
- ^ Roy Harrington. "Penniless aristocrat is struck by family curse", Western Daily Press, 28 September, 2006, p. 18. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6693763.stm
External links
- BBC: Story about his disappearance
- BBC: Story about arrests
- BBC: Confirmation of body's identity
- BBC: Funeral for Earl killed in France
- Dorset Echo: Slain earl laid to rest alongside son
- BBC: Brother in law denies earl murder
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anthony Ashley-Cooper |
Earl of Shaftesbury 1961 – 2004 Member of the House of Lords (1961–1999) |
Succeeded by Anthony Ashley-Cooper |
