WITH champagne on tap and wild parties in the South of France, the late Lord Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper lived life to the full.
However, all that came to an end when the aristocrat was murdered by his wife and her brother.
Who was Lord Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper?
Born on May 22, 1938, Lord Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper was the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury.
He was known for his love of wild parties, which reportedly included plenty of booze and drugs flowing.
The party loving Earl was also said to have a fondness for call girls.
He was said to pay £4K a night for sex workers after boozing in South of France bars.
Read more on royal scandal
The 10th Earl of Shaftsbury’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to some of the past Earls.
The most illustrious of the Shaftesbury dynasty was the 7th Earl, who campaigned against child labour and was in favour of education in the 19th century.
Both Shaftesbury Avenue in London and the Eros statue, which was officially called the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, were named after him.
The 10th Earl of Shaftesbury was the grandson of the 9th Earl.
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His father was the heir apparent, but died before his own dad, which meant his son was next in the line of succession.
Who was Lord Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper married to, and did they have children?
During his life, the Earl was married three times.
His first two wives were Bianca de Paolis, who was 12 years his senior, and Christina Montan, who he had sons Anthony and Nicholas with.
In 2002, the Earl met and married female escort and former Playboy model Jamila M’Barek.
However, it would be this marriage that would ultimately lead to his murder.
How did Lord Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper die?
In April 2004, Anthony told third wife Jamila that he wanted a divorce.
On November 3, 2004, Lord Shaftesbury arrived in Nice, South of France to meet with his estranged wife.
He later checked into the £130-a-night, four-star Noga Hilton on the Cannes seafront.
However the following day, after checking out of the hotel, Shaftesbury vanished without a trace.
I feel sorry for his family because Anthony was a very nice person, really generous. I regret what happened.
Jamila M’Barek
His disappearance became global news, with theories that he had massive debts or the Mafia could be to blame.
It was later uncovered that he had been murdered, with his cause of death being strangulation.
In a shock turn of events Lord Shaftsbury’s heir, his son Anthony, died aged 28 of a suspected heart attack in 2005 – just one month after his father’s body was found.
Where was Lord Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper’s body found?
Lord Shaftesbury skeletal remains were found in a ravine in a forest near Cannes five months later in April 2005.
His estranged wife Jamila M’Barek was arrested and charged with arranging his murder, while her brother Mohammed M/Barek was charged with carrying the killing out.
A jury found the M’Barek siblings guilty of the Earl’s murder and both were jailed for 25 years.
Jamila spent just nine years behind bars before being released, while Mohammed is still locked up.
In Channel 5 documentary A Very British Sex Scandal: The Earl & The Escort, Jamila talks about the shocking case.
Still able to use the title the Dowager Countess of Shaftesbury, she denies wanting Anthony dead.
But she said of his family: “I would like to explain to them everything. I would tell them, ‘Sorry for the pain you had.’
“I feel sorry for his family because Anthony was a very nice person, really generous. I regret what happened.”
How to watch A Very British Sex Scandal: The Earl & the Escort
A Very British Sex Scandal: The Earl & the Escort airs April 24, 2024 at 9pm on Channel 5.
The documentary follows the investigation into his disappearance and subsequent murder.
Jamila M’Barek speaks for the first time about her involvement in the murder.
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Plus there are interviews with Jamila’s lawyers, detectives, and reporters that worked on the case.
If you miss it, viewers can also catch up with the doc on the streaming site My5.
Timeline of Lord Shatfsbury’s murder
Here we take a look at the events leading up to an after the Earl’s murder:
- Lord Shaftsbury arrives in the South of France on November 3, 2004.
- The Earl goes to visit his estranged wife Jamila M’Barek.
- He checks into the Noga Hilton on the Cannes seafront.
- Lord Shaftsbury checks out of the hotel on November 4, 2004 and vanishes.
- The body of the Earl is found in Cannes in April 2005.
- In 2009, Lord Shaftsbury’s wife Jamila and her brother Mohammed M’Barek are found guilty of his murder.
