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British businessman goes on trial for murder of millionaire girlfriend British businessman goes on trial for murder of millionaire girlfriend
(about 9 hours later)
A British businessman who had a stormy relationship with his Polish-born millionaire girlfriend has gone on trial in Paris accused of bludgeoning her to death in their hotel suite after an alcohol-fuelled row. A British businessman accused of murder ing his girlfriend in their five-star Paris hotel held his head in his hands day as the court was shown photographs of a bloodsoaked mattress and her naked bruised body in the bathtub.
Ian Griffin listened intently to an interpreter as the charge sheet was read out in court on Monday. He clutched a pair of crutches after suffering from a neurological disease which has affected his ability to walk. Ian Griffin had told the court on the trial’s opening day that he was addicted to alcohol and anti-depressants at the time of the killing in May 2009.
The body of his girlfriend, 36-year-old Kinga Wolf, was found naked in the bath of their suite at the Hotel Bristol on 26 May 2009. She had been beaten on the head and abdomen and showed signs of having been Tasered. Blood was spattered on the walls, floor and furniture of suite 503, which had a do not disturb sign on the door. Appearing on crutches because of a degenerative neurological disorder which has affected his ability to walk, Griffin said: “I didn’t know you needed more and more and more and more.”
Griffin, originally from Warrington, was arrested five days later in woodland outside Macclesfield, where he had been camping in a tent. A Porsche he had driven to Paris was recovered at his parents’ home in Cheshire. Police arrived at the Bristol hotel at about 9pm on 26 May 2009 after a security guard discovered the body of Polish-born millionaire Kinga Wolf, 36, who had been Griffin’s girlfriend since the previous year. The guard checked the suite, which had a Please Do Not Disturb sign on the doorknob, after Wolf’s brother Marek told hotel staff he had been unable to reach her.
According to his French lawyer, Griffin, who had suffered from depression and who drank heavily, intends to plead diminished responsibility. He has told police he has no recollection of the events leading to her death, and when he woke up in the morning to find her lying in bed with blood coming out of her mouth, he put her in the bath before panicking and fleeing. Chief inspector Xavier Le Noë said the crime scene was one of a rare violence, and the attacker had attempted to conceal evidence of the murder before fleeing the scene. Griffin, who said he had no recollection of the events, left the Bristol on the afternoon of 25 May after ordering three cups of coffee. He waited outside the room to collect the order and told a hotel employee his wife was sleeping, according to police testimony.
On the evening of 25 May, the couple were seen arguing in the upmarket Bound restaurant on the Champs-Élysées, where they ordered aperitifs and two bottles of wine and returned separately to the hotel. A hotel employee who took a bottle of wine to their room later that evening witnessed a furious argument between the two, who had been dating for a year. Wolf’s body was discovered the following evening after her brother became concerned that he could not contact her. Le Noë said the hotel room had been trashed in a frenzy, with smears of blood or red wine all over the suite. Police images showed clothes stuffed into bags in the hallway and drops of blood on a shirt and on shoes. A bloody footprint on the parquet floor was photographed. Pieces of furniture and a mirror were smashed and stuffed into a wardrobe. Mattresses, which had been stripped, were overturned in an attempt to conceal blood which was dripping on to the headboard. Two white towels were placed on the bedroom floor to mop up blood.
Griffin, who was extradited to France in 2011 but kept under house arrest with an electronic tag in 2013 after falling ill, told police that he did not have a violent past. Wolf, who had previously been married to civil servant Peter Legg, had accused Griffin of infidelity and the pair were arrested in 2008 after she attacked him with a knife. Police took away the marble top of a bedside table which they suspect may have been the murder weapon. A broken stun gun was also found in the suite.
However friends of Wolf described Griffin, 45, as an aggressive alcoholic. The court heard that a few weeks before her death she had sent a text message saying “in case I die” and indicating that Griffin had forced her to take so many pills that she was frightened she might not wake up. A later text said Griffin had beaten her, but she subsequently asked for the messages to be deleted. Wolf’s bra had been cut into shreds. Her body, covered in bruises, was in the bath which was three-quarters filled. Wolf had dark swellings on her left eye and cheek, and a ring of bruises around her neck. Her head could be seen hanging limply on the side of the bath. There was also severe bruising on her abdomen. Sheets and pillows were left in the shower, which was left running with the “clear intention” of covering up the murder, the officer said.
Wolf’s parents believe Griffin was attracted to their daughter because of her fortune, which she had built through a tomato export company. Griffin, who had owned tanning salons and a chain of gadget stores, was declared bankrupt in 2006. Griffin, 45, fled in his father’s Porsche and was arrested five days later outside Macclesfield, Cheshire, in woodland where he was sleeping rough.
The court heard that Wolf had a history of depression and anxiety caused by her unstable relationship with Griffin, and they had been advised to consult a therapist together. Wolf was jealous of Griffin’s former girlfriend, Tracey Baker, with whom he is again in a relationship. The murder took place after the couple had a violent alcohol-fuelled argument over dinner in Bound restaurant on the Champs-Elysées. Wolf, who had built her fortune on exporting tomatoes to Britain, had accused Griffin of infidelity.
The Paris court heard that Griffin had phoned his father and told him that “something terrible has happened” and that Wolf had killed herself by taking an overdose. When asked on Monday whether he continued to see his former girlfriend Tracey Baker while dating Wolf, Griffin said his involvement with women was “complicated”.
Psychiatric tests of Griffin showed that he had a “borderline” personality. Under the influence of drink and drugs he was “disturbed” and “mentally unstable”. “You can get many things from one person, but when something is missing, you need comfort and you go to the other person to get what you need,” he said.
The prosecution is expected to argue that the fact that Griffin had tried to extend the three-day hotel booking, and had taken measures to flee the scene, showed that he was responsible for his actions. He faces a 30-year jail sentence if found guilty at the end of the trial, expected to last five days. According to his French lawyer, Griffin intends to plead diminished responsibility. He faces 30 years in jail if found guilty at the end of the five-day trial.
He told British police that when he woke up in the morning and found Wolf bleeding in bed, he put her in the bath and tried to revive her before panicking and fleeing.
Asked about his troubled childhood during which he was beaten by his father, Griffin said: “I don’t really remember. I mainly swam. For 10 years it was most of my life.”
He also said he couldn’t remember how much he was earning at the time. Griffin, who had owned tanning salons and a chain of gadget stores, was declared bankrupt in 2006. Bills found in their hotel suite were in the name of Wolf, who had paid for the hire of a luxury yacht near Perpignan where they were due after their stay in Paris.
Friends of Wolf described Griffin as an aggressive alcoholic. The court heard that a few weeks before her death she had sent a text message saying “in case I die” and indicating that Griffin had forced her to take so many pills that she was frightened she might not wake up. A later text said that Griffin had beaten her, but she subsequently asked for the messages to be deleted.
Griffin told his father after the murder that “something terrible has happened” and that Wolf had committed suicide by taking an overdose.
Psychiatric tests of Griffin, who was extradited to France in May 2011, have shown that under the influence of drink and drugs he was “disturbed” and “mentally unstable.” But the prosecution intends to prove that he was responsible for his actions in the Bristol.
The trial continues.