Jamila M'Barek
Encyclopedia
Jamila, Countess of Shaftesbury, Baroness Ashley of Wimborne St Giles and Baroness Cooper of Pawlett (née M'Barek) is the widow of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury
, and is imprisoned for having been an accomplice to the murder of her husband by her brother.
, France to immigrant parents, a Tunisian mother and a Moroccan father. The children were abused by their violent and alcoholic father who worked as a miner.
When M'Barek was six years old, her mother fled with her and her six siblings to Nabeul
, Tunisia, in order to escape from their abusive father. M'Barek spent most of her childhood there. M'Barek moved to Switzerland in her early twenties and then to Paris, where she claimed to have studied acting.
At the age of 17, M'Barek moved to Saint-Tropez
where she married her first husband, a Dutch businessman called Raf Schouten, by whom she had a son, Raf (born c. 1992), and a daughter, Kiara (born c. 1994). The first marriage ended in divorce.
According to Raf Schouten, M'Barek often went by the name "Sarah" and her children knew her by that name. Schouten believes M'Barek worked as a prostitute even during their short, unhappy marriage. She rarely saw her children who live at the French Riviera with their paternal grandmother.
In 1993, M'Barek posed naked in Playboy
. She later worked for an escort agency
at the French Riviera
and was looking for a permanent arrangement with one of her wealthy clients after her recent divorce when she, under the name "Sarah", met the twice-divorced Earl of Shaftesbury in late 2001. Catherine Gurtler, a former madam
from Paris who sent M'Barek to the Earl of Shaftesbury, later testified that she had asked for rich clients and she "saw plenty of big-name celebrities during her days working for the agency". According to Gurtler, she hoped to settle down with an affluent and famous man.
in the Netherlands
on 5 November 2002. The wedding was first scheduled for spring 2002, but the Earl "felt something was not right". To the disappointment of his family, he became infatuated with M'Barek, buying her a flat in Cannes for £500,000 (£ in present-day terms) and transferring other properties into her name after they married. Jamila, now known as Jamila, Countess of Shaftesbury, Lady Ashley of Wimborne St Giles and Lady Cooper of Pawlett, claimed to be pregnant with his child; the Earl included her in his will, naming her the heiress of his properties in Ireland and France, but a child was never born to the couple. During her trial, she claimed that she had had an abortion due to the Earl's alcoholism, but the magistrate said that that pregnancy had never occurred.
By April 2004, Lord Shaftesbury started a new relationship with Nadia Orche, a young mother of two children who has been described as a "club hostess from Cannes" and a "Moroccan prostitute". According to Orche, Lord Shaftesbury was planning to marry her after getting a divorce from his third wife.
Lord and Lady Shaftesbury separated in April 2004 and divorce proceedings were set in motion. By that time, he had given her a windmill
in the Gers
region of southwestern France, the €700,000 duplex in a villa in Cannes, which included staff, a 4x4 car, and a monthly allowance, ranging between €7,500 and €10,000. Lord Shaftesbury wanted to end this arrangement and the marriage so that he could marry Orche. While the Earl was discussing his desire with the Countess, a fight broke out between him and his brother-in-law
, Mohammed M'Barek. The Earl died during the fight when his brother-in-law strangled him, breaking his neck.
On 7 April 2005, a body in an advanced state of decomposition was discovered by the French authorities in a valley at Théoule-sur-Mer
, Alpes-Maritimes
, on the outskirts of Cannes.
In June 2006, pre-trial proceedings began in Grasse
. Lady Shaftesbury told the court that she was not with her brother when he disposed of the body. She stated that she had never been to the site and claimed that she had no role in the murder other than helping her brother, under duress
, load the body into his car. She told investigators, "I did not want him to die. I just wanted my brother to intimidate him so that he would continue to pay me my allowance. But he didn't want to have anything to do with it, so a violent quarrel broke out. I left the room because I could not stand to see what was happening".
in Nice, two-and-a-half years after the death of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury. The presiding judge of the jury trial was Nicole Besset, with Jean-Louis Moreau, serving as the state prosecutor. The Countess of Shaftesbury was represented by attorney, Franck De Vita. A forensic examination of the skeletal remains revealed injuries, including a broken ankle and a double fracture to the larynx, which indicated strangulation as the cause of death. At times, both Lady Shaftesbury and her brother admitted their involvement in the death of Lord Shaftesbury and the French authorities decided to charge both her and her brother with the crime of premeditated murder.
Fearing that her Arab ancestry would alienate the jury, the defendant demanded to be referred to by the titles she had gained when she married the Earl, much to the dismay of his family.
She further admitted that after her husband was dead, she helped her brother load his body into the trunk of his black BMW. She prefaced this admission with additional claims.
The French authorities suspected that there was a conspiracy to murder Shaftesbury, when they discovered that the Countess transferred €150,000 into her brother's bank account the week following her husband's disappearance. The prosecution viewed this as payment for services rendered, although Lady Shaftesbury testified that she had given her brother the money in order for him to buy a house for their ailing mother.
In her defence, Lady Shaftesbury denied any financial motive in wishing her husband dead and claimed that she had no need of his fortune, stating that she had "always been prosperous". She testified that the source of her prosperity was the generosity of wealthy individuals who were prepared to pay for her company. The Countess, who claimed to be "extremely close" to Prince Albert II of Monaco, named the actors George Clooney
and Bruce Willis
and former tennis player Björn Borg
as her former clients. All three individuals denied ever meeting Jamila M'Barek and declined to attend court to comment on her allegations or serve as character witnesses. Lady Shaftesbury vowed revenge, additionally stating, "I was always loyal to the men who were close to me, but they did not want to know me when I was facing the biggest trial of my life. Most were too scared to appear because they are married or have steady girlfriends but with their help I could have been cleared".
The Countess of Shaftesbury further stated that the arguments she had with her husband had nothing to do with money, but rather arose as a result of Lord Shaftesbury's excessive sexual demands brought on by his seemingly endless injections of testosterone
. Throughout the trial, her lawyer, Franck De Vita, continued to declare her innocence. "I am convinced Jamila will walk free".
paid to her brother. She additionally recounted precisely how she was going to blame her brother for her husband's death.
The wire tap also uncovered the truth about Lady Shaftesbury's visit to the remote spot where her husband's body was found. This was supported when downloaded records from the GPS tracking device in her cellphone provided details that she (or at least her cellphone) had been there two days prior to Lord Shaftesbury's death.
On 25 May 2007, after deliberating for two hours, the jury returned guilty verdicts against both brother and sister. Lady Shaftesbury and her brother, Mohammed M'Barek, were each sentenced to 25 years in prison. Under French law, they had an automatic right to appeal their conviction, which results in a retrial of the case. On 4 February 2009, she appeared in a court in southern France to appeal her conviction. After the jury deliberated for four hours, her sentence was reduced from 25 to 20 years at a court of appeal in Aix-en-Provence
.
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury styled Lord Ashley between 1947 and 1961, and Earl of Shaftesbury from 1961 until his death, was a British peer from Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, located in South West England on the coast of the English Channel...
, and is imprisoned for having been an accomplice to the murder of her husband by her brother.
Background
Born circa 1961, she was one of seven children born in Lens, Pas-de-CalaisLens, Pas-de-Calais
Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:...
, France to immigrant parents, a Tunisian mother and a Moroccan father. The children were abused by their violent and alcoholic father who worked as a miner.
When M'Barek was six years old, her mother fled with her and her six siblings to Nabeul
Nabeul
Nabeul is a coastal town in northeastern Tunisia, on the south coast near to the Cap Bon peninsula. It is located at around and is the capital of the Nabeul Governorate...
, Tunisia, in order to escape from their abusive father. M'Barek spent most of her childhood there. M'Barek moved to Switzerland in her early twenties and then to Paris, where she claimed to have studied acting.
At the age of 17, M'Barek moved to Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is a town, 104 km to the east of Marseille, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is also the principal town in the canton of Saint-Tropez....
where she married her first husband, a Dutch businessman called Raf Schouten, by whom she had a son, Raf (born c. 1992), and a daughter, Kiara (born c. 1994). The first marriage ended in divorce.
According to Raf Schouten, M'Barek often went by the name "Sarah" and her children knew her by that name. Schouten believes M'Barek worked as a prostitute even during their short, unhappy marriage. She rarely saw her children who live at the French Riviera with their paternal grandmother.
In 1993, M'Barek posed naked in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. She later worked for an escort agency
Escort agency
Escort agencies are companies that provide escorts for the agency's clients. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room , or at the escort's residence . Some agencies also provide escorts for longer durations, who may stay...
at the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
and was looking for a permanent arrangement with one of her wealthy clients after her recent divorce when she, under the name "Sarah", met the twice-divorced Earl of Shaftesbury in late 2001. Catherine Gurtler, a former madam
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
from Paris who sent M'Barek to the Earl of Shaftesbury, later testified that she had asked for rich clients and she "saw plenty of big-name celebrities during her days working for the agency". According to Gurtler, she hoped to settle down with an affluent and famous man.
Marriage to Lord Shaftesbury
M'Barek and Lord Shaftesbury were married at HilversumHilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on 5 November 2002. The wedding was first scheduled for spring 2002, but the Earl "felt something was not right". To the disappointment of his family, he became infatuated with M'Barek, buying her a flat in Cannes for £500,000 (£ in present-day terms) and transferring other properties into her name after they married. Jamila, now known as Jamila, Countess of Shaftesbury, Lady Ashley of Wimborne St Giles and Lady Cooper of Pawlett, claimed to be pregnant with his child; the Earl included her in his will, naming her the heiress of his properties in Ireland and France, but a child was never born to the couple. During her trial, she claimed that she had had an abortion due to the Earl's alcoholism, but the magistrate said that that pregnancy had never occurred.
By April 2004, Lord Shaftesbury started a new relationship with Nadia Orche, a young mother of two children who has been described as a "club hostess from Cannes" and a "Moroccan prostitute". According to Orche, Lord Shaftesbury was planning to marry her after getting a divorce from his third wife.
Lord and Lady Shaftesbury separated in April 2004 and divorce proceedings were set in motion. By that time, he had given her a windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
in the Gers
Gers
The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...
region of southwestern France, the €700,000 duplex in a villa in Cannes, which included staff, a 4x4 car, and a monthly allowance, ranging between €7,500 and €10,000. Lord Shaftesbury wanted to end this arrangement and the marriage so that he could marry Orche. While the Earl was discussing his desire with the Countess, a fight broke out between him and his brother-in-law
Brother-in-law
A brother-in-law is the brother of one's spouse, the husband of one's sibling, or the husband of one's spouse's sibling.-See also:*Affinity *Sister-in-law*Brothers in Law , a 1955 British comedy novel...
, Mohammed M'Barek. The Earl died during the fight when his brother-in-law strangled him, breaking his neck.
Confession and arrest
In February 2005, M'Barek was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she had an emotional breakdown and began confessing to her involvement in her husband's death. When interviewed by police, she claimed that Shaftesbury had been beaten to death by her brother during a fight at her flat in Cannes. According to M'Barek, her brother placed her husband's body in the boot of his BMW and left it in an unknown place. She was arrested on 25 February 2005 and her brother was arrested by German police the following day at his home in Munich. He was later extradited to France, continuing to deny his involvement and knowledge of the location of Lord Shaftesbury's body.On 7 April 2005, a body in an advanced state of decomposition was discovered by the French authorities in a valley at Théoule-sur-Mer
Théoule-sur-Mer
Théoule-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
, Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, on the outskirts of Cannes.
In June 2006, pre-trial proceedings began in Grasse
Grasse
-See also:*Route Napoléon*Ancient Diocese of Grasse*Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department-External links:*...
. Lady Shaftesbury told the court that she was not with her brother when he disposed of the body. She stated that she had never been to the site and claimed that she had no role in the murder other than helping her brother, under duress
Duress
In jurisprudence, duress or coercion refers to a situation whereby a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against the person. Black's Law Dictionary defines duress as "any unlawful threat or coercion used... to induce another to act [or not act] in a manner...
, load the body into his car. She told investigators, "I did not want him to die. I just wanted my brother to intimidate him so that he would continue to pay me my allowance. But he didn't want to have anything to do with it, so a violent quarrel broke out. I left the room because I could not stand to see what was happening".
Trial
On 22 May 2007, the trial of Jamila, Lady Shaftesbury, and her brother, Mohammed M'Barek, opened at the Palais de JusticePalais de Justice, Paris
The Palais de Justice , located in the Île de la Cité in central Paris, France, is built on the site of the former royal palace of Saint Louis, of which the Sainte Chapelle remains. Thus the justice of the state has been dispensed at this site since medieval times...
in Nice, two-and-a-half years after the death of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury. The presiding judge of the jury trial was Nicole Besset, with Jean-Louis Moreau, serving as the state prosecutor. The Countess of Shaftesbury was represented by attorney, Franck De Vita. A forensic examination of the skeletal remains revealed injuries, including a broken ankle and a double fracture to the larynx, which indicated strangulation as the cause of death. At times, both Lady Shaftesbury and her brother admitted their involvement in the death of Lord Shaftesbury and the French authorities decided to charge both her and her brother with the crime of premeditated murder.
Fearing that her Arab ancestry would alienate the jury, the defendant demanded to be referred to by the titles she had gained when she married the Earl, much to the dismay of his family.
Magistrate's investigative report
The trial began with a presentation of the investigative report, which was read to the court by Jean-Louis Moreau, the state prosecutor. The report described the Countess as "an escort girl who loved the high life" who "chose the life of a kept woman, with multiple affairs with men she chose for their bank accounts and their assets". Having struck gold when she married the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, she then faced "looming financial disaster" in the event of a divorce and set out "consciously and without constraint, to accomplish his assassination". Refusing to be dissuaded from her desired inheritance, she continued to maintain her belief throughout the trial that she was entitled to a share of her late husband's £6million fortune, including the family estate at Wimborne St Giles.Defence statements
Lady Shaftesbury discounted the investigative report and stated that her marriage to Lord Shaftesbury "was a curse", describing her husband as "a loner" who "had no friends" which is why "he drank a lot". She portrayed him as a "violent, sex-crazed alcoholic, hooked on cocaine". While she freely admitted that her brother had indeed killed her husband, she testified that it was all an accident. Her brother presented a similar defence.There was blood on the floor. I did not know if it was my brother or my husband's blood. My brother could not believe my husband was dead.
—Jamila M'Barek
She further admitted that after her husband was dead, she helped her brother load his body into the trunk of his black BMW. She prefaced this admission with additional claims.
He forced me to put the body in the boot
Trunk (automobile)The trunk or boot of an automobile or car is the vehicle's main storage, luggage, or cargo compartment. Trunk is used in North American English and Jamaican English; boot is used elsewhere in the English speaking world. Trunk is also primarily used in many non-English speaking regions, such as...
of the car. He forced me to follow him as I thought we were going to a hospital. Then he asked me to go away.
—Jamila M'Barek
The French authorities suspected that there was a conspiracy to murder Shaftesbury, when they discovered that the Countess transferred €150,000 into her brother's bank account the week following her husband's disappearance. The prosecution viewed this as payment for services rendered, although Lady Shaftesbury testified that she had given her brother the money in order for him to buy a house for their ailing mother.
In her defence, Lady Shaftesbury denied any financial motive in wishing her husband dead and claimed that she had no need of his fortune, stating that she had "always been prosperous". She testified that the source of her prosperity was the generosity of wealthy individuals who were prepared to pay for her company. The Countess, who claimed to be "extremely close" to Prince Albert II of Monaco, named the actors George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
and Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
and former tennis player Björn Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
as her former clients. All three individuals denied ever meeting Jamila M'Barek and declined to attend court to comment on her allegations or serve as character witnesses. Lady Shaftesbury vowed revenge, additionally stating, "I was always loyal to the men who were close to me, but they did not want to know me when I was facing the biggest trial of my life. Most were too scared to appear because they are married or have steady girlfriends but with their help I could have been cleared".
The Countess of Shaftesbury further stated that the arguments she had with her husband had nothing to do with money, but rather arose as a result of Lord Shaftesbury's excessive sexual demands brought on by his seemingly endless injections of testosterone
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...
. Throughout the trial, her lawyer, Franck De Vita, continued to declare her innocence. "I am convinced Jamila will walk free".
Conviction and sentencing
The strongest piece of evidence presented by the prosecution were details revealed in a secretly recorded telephone conversation between the defendant and her sister, Naima, in which Lady Shaftesbury discussed £100,000 (€150,000) blood moneyContract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
paid to her brother. She additionally recounted precisely how she was going to blame her brother for her husband's death.
The wire tap also uncovered the truth about Lady Shaftesbury's visit to the remote spot where her husband's body was found. This was supported when downloaded records from the GPS tracking device in her cellphone provided details that she (or at least her cellphone) had been there two days prior to Lord Shaftesbury's death.
On 25 May 2007, after deliberating for two hours, the jury returned guilty verdicts against both brother and sister. Lady Shaftesbury and her brother, Mohammed M'Barek, were each sentenced to 25 years in prison. Under French law, they had an automatic right to appeal their conviction, which results in a retrial of the case. On 4 February 2009, she appeared in a court in southern France to appeal her conviction. After the jury deliberated for four hours, her sentence was reduced from 25 to 20 years at a court of appeal in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
.