325:, Susan changed her plea to guilty of defrauding her aunt out of £500,000. Marcus and Sophia maintained their innocence, claiming to be the "unwitting tools" of their mother, and her husband Michael was also brought in. The four were found guilty, with the judge declaring Susan a "malign and appalling influence" on her children. Michael was believed to have used his understanding of banking and wills to aid the fraudulent affair. Susan was sentenced to seven years and Michael to four years. Sophia and Marcus were given 30 months and 18 months respectively. Investigations into the whereabouts of Margaret's thirty gold bars, valued at £12 million, proved fruitless despite a dig in the grounds of Heath House. The existence of the gold has never been proven.
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reclaim furniture that she considered to be rightfully hers. During this time Dale is said to have felt besieged, and there were several angry confrontations between the two parties. Dale was found dead in the kitchen on 13 September 1987, food still cooking in the oven, by
Giselle Wall, his editorial assistant. Investigations revealed that his head had been bludgeoned with a hard, narrow instrument. Dale's headstone in the churchyard of St Edward's,
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Dale lived mostly in the kitchen and one bedroom in Heath House, the remainder of the property left to gather dust. Two of his children, Marcus and Sophia, had been visiting regularly to help tidy the exterior of the house and the surrounding grounds. Susan admitted to having broken into the house to
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in 1972. The couple agreed in their settlement to sell Heath House and split the profits, but the sale proved impossible. For fifteen years "unstable house prices" and Dale's refusal to leave the house stifled any interest in the property. Correspondence between their
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As part of the murder investigation, police conducted routine financial checks. They became suspicious of the fate of
Margaret Illingworth (née Wilberforce), Susan's aunt and the second wife of former cabinet minister
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on suspicion of murder, but the two children were dropped from the investigation after just a few weeks. Susan was charged with the murder of Dale but was found not guilty in the trial in
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His eyesight failing, Dale struggled to find work; they chose for Susan not to find employment. The pair regularly argued and lived in different parts of the 50-room house, finally
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105:. Described as "an eccentric recluse", Dale was found bludgeoned to death in his countryside mansion in Heath, Herefordshire, England. The only suspect, Dale's former wife
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by Linda
Hurcombe, a 2018 novel in which the murder, the trial and the gold bars are woven into the fictional story of a young Romany Gypsy and her friend.
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While in custody from the murder trial in 1988, Susan remained under investigation for fraud in early 1990, two years later. Shortly before facing trial in
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Michael Victor Jossif de
Stempel in 1984, acquiring the title of Baroness. De Stempel was from a wealthy Russian family, the holders of an ancient
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and valuable paintings, disappeared. At the same time her money and shares were sold using forged signatures and the contents of her
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and was invited to holiday in the de
Stempel home in Docklow in February 1984. While there her fortune, much of it in the form of
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416:"The strange case of Baroness de Stempel: How the death of an eccentric architect revealed a web of murder, fraud and intrigue"
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Susan found life after her first marriage to be very difficult and had to rely on handouts from her family, finding a home in
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Though the investigation into Dale's murder did not finish with any convictions, there were successful charges of
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continued but did not make any progress and neither side was able to support their case financially in court.
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that had been used by the three during renovations. It had been recently cleaned and there were no signs of
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had been recently changed to remove her request to be buried in the
Illingworth family tomb in
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against de
Stempel, two of their children, and her new husband. The possible existence of
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out of around £1 million before being placed in the care of a nursing home at
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502:"Riddle of the recluse who searched for Camelot but found only death instead"
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and the charges could not be upheld. The case therefore remains as "one of
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flat were emptied and sold at auction. It is estimated that
Margaret was
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title, and their marriage was part-funded by the sale of her aunt's
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by Kate
Wharton. The case also serves as the inspiration for
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Dale was born Thomas Simon Savage Dale on 17 June 1919 in
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Blood Money: The Story Of The
Baroness de Stempel Scandal
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series. The episode was titled 'Murder in the Mansion'.
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Susan Wilberforce, the great-great-granddaughter of
128:remains in doubt with no proof of their existence.
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333:In 2011, a documentary on the case was aired by
156:was an integral part of the legend and that the
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681:September 1987 events in the United Kingdom
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280:Albert Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth
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351:The history of this case is detailed in
241:Susan, Marcus and Sophia were initially
656:Deaths by beating in the United Kingdom
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215:. The relationship lasted just a year.
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269:'s relatively few unsolved murders".
113:'s relatively few unsolved murders".
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249:. The purported murder weapon was a
666:Murder trials in the United Kingdom
530:"Great Crimes and Trials: Season 1"
473:"Baroness cleared of murder charge"
636:1987 murders in the United Kingdom
584:"The Jesse Tree by Linda Hurcombe"
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555:Archer, Mark (2 February 1991).
373:Murders of Harry and Megan Tooze
414:Kirby, Terry (4 August 2007).
282:. Margaret was suffering from
263:insufficient physical evidence
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557:"The stripping of Aunt Puss"
375:– similar 1993 case in Wales
691:Unsolved murders in England
661:Deaths by person in England
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646:20th century in Shropshire
353:The Trials of the Baroness
101:in September 1987 remains
107:Baroness Susan de Stempel
76:Baroness Susan de Stempel
267:West Mercia Constabulary
160:was buried in the area.
111:West Mercia Constabulary
616:documentary on the case
614:Great Crimes and Trials
446:"Murder at the mansion"
340:Great Crimes and Trials
335:Investigation Discovery
33:considered for merging
676:September 1987 events
247:Worcester Crown Court
422:on 15 September 2007
308:Hereford Crematorium
146:Thomas Lawrence Dale
124:12 million worth of
58:Heath, Herefordshire
48:11/12 September 1987
40:Murder of Simon Dale
651:Crime in Shropshire
174:William Wilberforce
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588:Orphans Publishing
686:Trials in England
337:as part of their
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203:. She married
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671:1987 crimes
534:Prime Video
329:Documentary
172:politician
68:Bludgeoning
22:‹ The
625:Categories
477:The Herald
380:References
323:Birmingham
201:Leominster
190:solicitors
158:Holy Grail
91:Simon Dale
84:Not guilty
304:cremation
296:defrauded
288:gold bars
213:jewellery
185:divorcing
132:Biography
126:gold bars
95:architect
60:, England
31:is being
568:24 March
536:. Amazon
514:24 March
483:24 March
457:24 March
426:22 April
367:See also
316:Bradford
300:Hereford
284:dementia
243:arrested
170:Georgian
138:Richmond
103:unsolved
73:Suspects
53:Location
35:. ›
24:template
593:29 June
540:24 July
251:crowbar
209:Latvian
199:, near
197:Docklow
81:Verdict
292:London
237:Murder
232:Trials
142:Surrey
99:murder
97:whose
612:2011
347:Books
273:Fraud
255:blood
219:Death
205:Baron
118:fraud
65:Cause
595:2022
570:2018
542:2022
516:2018
485:2018
459:2018
428:2018
312:will
45:Date
306:at
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