Death Complicates Ikin Investigation

Whilst Australia's media and the weird mob at Fairfax have been  hyperventilating over the great non-challenge of Julia Gillard's leadership, the French media has been delving into the strange death of high profile French lawyer Olivier Metzner whose clients have included Manuel Noriega, former French  prime minister Dominique de Villepin   and Alexandre Despallieres the man being investigated over the death of Australian record boss Peter Ikin.

Metzner                                          Despallieres                                        Ikin                                    Noriega

Metzner was rich, gay and connected and lived in a luxury apartment on the Boulevard Saint-Germain but it was at his private island in Brittany where his body was found floating in the surf.
Metzner was the lawyer for former French singer Alexandre Despallieres who is being investigated over the death of Warner Music boss Peter Ikin who died after a fall down the stairs of a Paris hotel. Despallieres obtained probate on a will Ikin purported to have left but that was overturned in a London court. He was also a personal friend of Despallieres and it's believed he was not being paid which leaves the accused murderer in a sticky position.

As to the reason for Metzner's death, although many say he suffered from depression, others have hinted at darker reasons and point to Metzner's involvement with members of the French underworld.
Read The Independent's Obituary.

The Vanishing Lady

 As the world's richest woman Gina Rinehart launched her book Northern Australia and Then Some
yesterday by flying from city to city in her private jet ( banning the media except for the Ten Network which by co-incidence, she owns) our attention is drawn to a snap ( above left ) taken some time ago on board that plane.
The photo that ran in The Australian newspaper, is of Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney and his late wife Corryn Rayney. Rayney was acquitted of Corryn's murder earlier this month. Gina Rinehart had  been carefully airbrushed out of the snap as the original on the right of it shows.

But the Shuttle has been caught out in similar fashion when we published an agency supplied photo (above left) of actor Simon Burke, pop impresario John Reid and the late music identity Peter Ikin. French police are  investigating the circumstances of Ikin's death.
Now we have the original photo as shown above right. The snap includes Ikin's French husband Alexandre Despallières, a suspect in Ikin's death, carefully airbrushed out.
The creepy mysteries of Photoshop. You can be erased from history!

Peter Ikin Case Heats Up

A must see TV show  : Sunday Night on the Seven Network has a feature on the late Australian music identity Peter Ikin who friends like Elton John and Molly Meldrum believed was murdered.

Ikin died in 2008 after a fall down a flight of stairs in Paris and his partner, handsome Frenchman Alexandre Despallières who Ikin had married shortly before his death, had his body cremated and presented a falsified will to a London court. That will was eventually over-turned and Despallières was arrested by French police after rock entrepreneurs John Reid and Billy Gaff hired investigators and a French lawyer to probe the events surrounding Ikin's death.

Despallières is currently on bail and the Shuttle previously posted a link to a fascinating article in Bloomberg Businessweek by journalist Brad Stone who had previous dealings with the Frenchman.
Our Seven insider says to expect to hear some remarkable new revelations on the show about the investigation. You can see a preview here.

Love Is Dead With Accused Back Behind Bars

Despaillieres with Elton John & Peter Ikin

A report in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald confirms that Alexandre Despallieres, suspected of being involved in the sudden death of popular Australian Warner Music executive Peter Ikin has been re-arrested and is back behind bars.

As the Shuttle exclusively reported Despallieres was released on bail in March this year after spending ten months in jail while Ikin's death is being investigated. Ikin, a friend of Rod Stewart and Elton John died in a Paris hotel in 2008 not long after marrying Despallieres in a civil ceremony.

The 42 year old Frenchman had Ikin's body cremated and obtained probate on Ikin's estate in a London court and set out on a spending spree purchasing  luxury sports cars for he and his co-accused Jeremy Billen.

A relative of Ikin's  challenged the validity of that will and a settlement was reached out of court with Despallieres relinquishing his claim on Ikin's $20M estate.

Enter Elton John's ex-manager John Reid a long time friend of Ikin's who commissioned an investigation in France which resulted in the arrest of Despallieres and Billen.

According the SMH article Despallieres who once had a hit record L'amour a Mort (Love Is Dead) in France had failed to meet the strict conditions of his bail and temporarily went missing, finally being arrested by French police who traced him via his mobile phone.
During his 6 months release he had launched himself into Paris nightlife and has been posting videos onto his YouTube account . He also has a photographic website that has snaps of him in happier days with Ikin, John Reid, Elton John and others.

For now, Despallieres is back again in Fresnes Prison, a gloomy establishment outside Paris ( once run by the Gestapo) while a magistrate considers the evidence against him.

Peter Ikin Accused Gets Bail

ALEXANDRE DESPALLIERES the French husband of the late Australian music identity Peter Ikin has been granted bail in a French court.
As we reported recently a bail application in February was refused but now Despallieres has walked free from Fresnes prison but must report to police each day.

John Reid,Alexandre Despallieres & Peter Ikin

Ikin was the former head of Warner's Music Australia and had re-ignited an affair with Despallieres with the pair marrying in a civil ceremony. Shortly after, Ikin fell to his death down a flight of stairs. Despallieres gained probate on Ikin's $20M estate in a London court and moved into his Chelsea home but that will was successfully overturned by Ikin's family.

 Elton John's former manager, John Reid an old friend of Ikin's hired detectives to investigate the manner of his friend's death and not long after Despallieres's was charged by French police.

 As our picture shows, in former days Reid and Despallieres appeared to be good friends.

Prince Alfred

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# A telephone call reputedly from the new premier Barry O'Farrell's office informs us that Henry James O'Farrell who attempted to assassinate Prince Alfred in 1868 was "not a relation of the premier although Mr O'Farrell remains fiercely proud of his Irish roots".

Asked to comment on Prince Andrew's "appointment" as NSW Governor (our invention) he responded : "I have nothing to say about that ". Strange.

French Accused Murderer at the Playboy Mansion



Peter Ikin

A video has surfaced of accused murderer Alexandre Despallieres partying at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles with his co-accused Jeremy Bilien.

A French magistrate is currently investigating the death of much loved, former Sydney based Warner's Music boss Peter Ikin who died in 2008 after falling down a flight of stairs in a Paris hotel.

A good friend of Ikin's and the former manager of Elton John and dancer Michael Flatley, John Reid  hired a French lawyer to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding Ikin's accident.

In July Despallieres and his former French-American wife Laetitia Nail, Bilien and an associate Vincent Bray , were arrested by French police on suspicion of murdering Ikin to claim his fortune. Bray has been released whilst the others languish in Paris's Fresne Prison.

For his defense Despallieres has high flying French lawyer Olivier Metzner on his side.

Sir Elton John's manager dons Miss Marple garb over mystery death

Friends and family of the late record company executive Peter Ikin who died in November 2008 aged 62, are still asking questions about the manner of his death. Ikin, a much loved music industry figure who was the boss of Warner's Music Australia passed away after a fall down some stairs in his Paris hotel and after marrying his French lover Alexandre Despallieres in a civil ceremony the previous month at the Chelsea Town Hall in London. Ikin had retired in 2000 after a stint as VP at the London HQ of Warner's Music.

Despallieres produced a new will reputedly signed by Ikin in August of that year and witnessed by Despallieres' assistant Jeremy Billien and another friend Vincent Bray, leaving Ikin's $20million fortune to his new husband. After getting probate granted in England, Despallieres' had Ikin's body cremated and set about spending over $2 million from Ikin's Channel Island's bank account, purchasing 3 Porches-one for himself and one each for  Billien and Bray.

actor Simon Burke, John Reid and Peter Ikin

London's High Court overturned that will after a previous one was produced by Ikin's lawyer, signed in 2002 which left his estate to charities, his godchildren and only living relative, a Catholic priest in Sydney. An out of court settlement was reached in which Despallieres is said to have received a million dollars.  Despallieres also agreed to move out of  Ikin's Chelsea apartment.

It's claimed that Despallieres has said in the past he was suffering from brain cancer and is HIV, hence Ikin's rush to marry him and make a new will.

Ikin was well liked and friendly with many pop stars like Elton John and Rod Stewart. John Mellancamp said of Ikin ; "he was always kind, and jovial and a pleasure to be with. I have thought and spoke of Peter often. He was my introduction to the music business"

Now former rock manager John Reid, a friend of Ikin's and who guided the careers of Elton John, Freddie Mercury and Queen and the dancer Michael Flatley wants some answers. Reid has hired a French lawyer who has petitioned the French coroner for a toxicology report into Ikin's sudden death. French police have opened a file and are investigating after it was found there were deadly levels of paracetamol in Ikin's blood when he died.

Billy Gaff wants fraud charges

And another tough-minded Scot Billy Gaff, the ex-manager of Rod Stewart is pursuing Despallieres for $500,000 he said he lent the Frenchmen whilst he was waiting for probate to be granted on Ikin's will . Gaff said he "came under Despallieres' spell when he said he was a French pop star". Gaff wants fraud charges laid against Despallieres.
He may have to get in the queue. At a recent memorial service for Ikin in Sydney  there was much muttering from Ikin's distraught friends in the music business about issuing  legal claims against Despallieres. It seems Reid has fired the first shot.

Hugh Jackman film shock ! bestiality, sodomy, violence, rape and children

This could be your only chance to see this shocking film where squeaky clean Hugh Jackman talks about his sordid Christmas memories.

     Next year Federal Communication's Minister Stephen Conroy intends to introduce net nanny filtering to protect vunerable Aussies and to bring the country into line with those other bastions of democracy-Iran, Burma, China, Uzbekistan and errr, that's it. Every subject covered in this vid will come under the filter.

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The mighty world-wide News Ltd empire today brings news of a tale blogged by tSS over 6 weeks ago as Alexandre Despallieres (left) the French "husband", or widow(er) of Warners Music identity Australian Peter Ikin who tragically died a year ago, faces a London court over a dispute concerning Ikin's $20M estate.

       Despallieres must possess classic French charm as he is also being hauled through the High Court by  Rod Stewart's manager Billy Gaff over a million pound dispute. Gaff is no fool and it's been a few decades since anyone was able to pull the wool over Gaff's eyes but he claims he fell under Despallieres' spell.

## update : The Sydney Morning Herald's Andrew Hornery reports  Despallieres was granted £500,000 after reaching  an out of court settlement with lawyers with Ikin's original beneficeries to split the remainder of the $20M estate. The Frenchman still has to face Billy Gaff in a London court over Gaff's claim for $1M.