Murder in Paradise
RChamp7927
Here, from the March 21, 1998 _London Times_ is one of those mysteries
that seems to have been hatched in the fertile brain of Agatha Christie. I
can see Hercule Poirot there now, sorting everyone out. I do hope there
is some follow-up in _The Times_, since this is quite an intriguing little
mystery.
Bob Champ
The Times: World Newsfeatures:
Murder creates panic in paradise
MURDERS are simply not meant to happen on Mustique, arguably the most exclusive
holiday spot on earth, a Caribbean island custom-designed to provide privacy
and security for the rich and renowned.
The sands are golden, the waters inviting and the temperature seldom drops
below 33C. The parties are legendary, for neighbours are few, discreet and
stupendously wealthy, on an island favoured by David Bowie and his wife, the
model Iman, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, the publisher Felix Dennis and Princess
Margaret.
Last month, the island's tranquillity was ruffled when the Princess was flown
back to Britain after suffering a slight stroke at her holiday home. It was,
residents agreed, the most unpleasant event on Mustique in living memory. Until
three days later, that is, when the body of Susie Mostberger, a wealthy French
socialite from Strasbourg and a visitor for more than two decades, was found in
her beautiful rented seafront property, Fort Shandy.
She had been repeatedly stabbed and her throat cut. Three weeks later police
still have not found her killer, nor a motive. "Panic in Paradise" shouted the
French headlines, as a meeting of Mustique's 72 co-proprietors was called to
discuss offering a reward for the capture of the killer. Some owners are
already contemplating selling up, and <I>Paris-Match</I> claimed Mick Jagger,
"fearing that his children might be victims of a kidnapping", was thinking of
leaving.
Immediate flight was not an option for the few hundred people now in residence,
however, because police refused to give permission for anyone to leave,
according to <I>Marianne</I> magazine, which described the murder as "the most
chic crime of the year". Sir James Mitchell, the Prime Minister of the
Grenadines, declared: "This is a catastrophe for everyone."
Scotland Yard officers have been helping French detectives and local police
investigators with their inquiries. The theory that the 56-year-old Frenchwoman
may have been killed during a burglary has been discounted because nothing was
missing and valuable jewellery was untouched. Unmarried and childless, Mme
Mostberger spent most of her winters in Mustique, renting villas at an average
of £5,000 a week. "She was very rich, but very generous, very happy, very
funny," one friend said.
On February 26 Mme Mostberger went to a party attended by Sir James and other
notables, and returned home by golf cart at around 1am. Her body was found by a
maid the next morning in the master bedroom of the mansion overlooking
Britannia Bay. Police immediately began investigating Mme Mostberger's
relationship with a 27-year-old Slav, so far identified only as Vladimir.
Vladimir, a deserter from the Yugoslav Army, reportedly met Mme Mostberger
while working in an expensive Strasbourg clothes boutique, some time after the
death in 1993 of her long-time lover, Henry Dreyfus, a rich industrialist.
The oddly matched couple turned heads in Basil's Bar, the island's lone
watering hole. "He was nothing but a gigolo," one resident observed.
This week _Paris-Match_ reported that the young Yugolsav had begun demanding
money from her, and some of Mme Mostberger's associates have suggested that she
wanted to end their relationship. Ten days before her death, Vladimir left
Mustique for Switzerland, where he had been studying hotel management.
Police are also investigating the possibility that Mme Mostberger's death was
linked to the Caribbean drugs trade. They are also said to be intrigued by the
source of Mme Mostberger's money. She was independently wealthy, thanks to the
family dental and pharmaceutical business, but she did not inherit the Dreyfus
fortune. Even so she dined only in the most expensive restaurants, and made
regular trips to Marbella and Morocco.
Another line of inquiry involves four French people who moored their yacht in
Britannia Bay shortly before the murder. Mme Mostberger told a friend that she
had invited the crew to dinner a few days earlier, but had "felt uneasy" about
them.
The slow-moving inquiry has led to suspicions that police may be dragging their
heels to avoid adverse publicity. If so, that effort may be too late, for when
Mustique was bought by the Scottish millionaire Lord Glenconner in 1959 and
divided into 72 properties, it was precisely to create a world untouched by
such sordid realities as violent crime.