valuable paintings stolen. Police believe Mr. Landy may have disturbed the robbers. A sledgehammer was recovered from the scene. Russell Landy was a relative newcomer to the art world. His gallery, Impressions, opened less than four years ago and specialized in the minimalist work of young painters such as Michael Paggia and Janet Hopkins.
Jane Landy Loses Baby
Two weeks after the murder of her art dealer husband. Russell Landy, Jane Landy has suffered a second tragedy. It was announced yesterday that she has lost the baby she was expecting. She is said to be distraught. Police are no nearer finding the murderer of her husband.
Landy Murder Mystery
Police admit to being puzzled about the murder of an dealer Russell Landy, 44. whose battered body was found two nights ago by his wife, Jane. 'The premises were broken into,' said a police spokesman, 'and some paintings stolen, but we cannot account for the frenzied attack on Mr. Landy. This sort of specialist robbery isn't normally associated with extreme violence. Art thieves pride themselves on their professionalism.'
The police are asking dealers and collectors to watch out for the stolen paintings. 'If we can establish that robbery was the motive,' said the spokesman, 'it will assist us in our inquiries. At this stage, it is not clear whether the sledgehammer used to murder Mr. Landy was already on the premises or was brought there by the attacker. Clearly, we have to consider that murder may have been the intention all along.'
Jane Landy, 24, is the only daughter of Adam Kingslcy, millionaire chairman of Franchise Holdings Ltd. He is said to be deeply upset by his son-in-law's death, despite declaring publicly after the wedding that Russell Landy was little better than 'a gold-digging cradle snatcher ' He has two sons by his second marriage, Miles, and Fergus, aged 16 and 14.
Friends of the Landys say Russell was a popular man with no enemies. 'He was an intellectual with a wonderful sense of humor,' said a close friend. 'I cannot understand why anyone would want to kill him.'
The stolen paintings have been valued at L230,000 but police believe they will be difficult to sell. Michael Paggia's work is well known in minimalist art circles but his appeal has a narrow base. His mast famous work, 'Brown and Yellow,' two large brown canvases on either side of a smaller yellow canvas, is currently on display at the Tate. It caused a furor when it was bought. One critic described it as 'S**T and P**S.'
'It is very unclear,' said the police spokesman, 'why thieves would bother to steal paintings like this. Who would buy them?'
MEMORANDUM
To: ACC Hendry
From: Superintendent Fisher
Date: 9th August, 1984
Re: Murder of Russe11 Landy-1.2.84
Following our conversation of yesterday, I have asked Andrews and Meredith to put together a summary of the case for you. The salient points are these:
· None of the stolen paintings have materialized. Andrews's & Meredith's view, which I share, is that robbery was never the motive. Extensive inquiries have produced no witnesses to the break-in. (NB: Mrs. Landy has made an insurance claim for compensation. The paintings were valued at L200,000 plus.)
· Landy's movements were traced for the three months prior to the murder but there is no evidence of anything remotely untoward in his background. His business was solvent, as were his personal finances, and bar some indications that he was an occasional cannabis smoker, he did not engage in any illegal activities. Despite questioning of friends, colleagues, and relations, there is no evidence of a secret liaison. It seems highly unlikely, therefore, that he was killed by a jealous rival.
· He had several gay friends but extensive questioning of the gay community has convinced Andrews & Meredith that he himself was not an active homosexual and that this was not a 'gay' killing.
· He was on good terms with his wife. Friends describe him as 'overly possessive of her' but there is no evidence of domestic violence or cruelty. Her alibi for the afternoon and evening of 1st February is solid. The only time she was alone from midday onwards was when she paid off the taxi which took her from the restaurant to the gallery and entered the premises. She was alone when she found Landy. Andrews & Meredith have taken several opinions on the forensic evidence, all of which support the original theory that Landy had been attacked a minimum of one hour before she arrived at 21:05. With the cabdriver's evidence of the time he dropped her, and the logged 999 ambulance call, there is no question of her having committed the assault herself.
· Her movements have also been traced for the three months prior to the murder. Andrews & Meredith looked specifically for evidence of an affair, but found none. They also looked for evidence of a contract between her and a third party to eliminate her husband but, again, found none. Nor, it must be said, could they discover a reason why she would want him eliminated. Over a hundred friends and colleagues have been interviewed and they all speak of an amicable relationship between the two. There is some indication that Mr. Landy suffered periodic bouts of jealousy but this was put down to the fact that he was twenty years older than she was, and not to any infidelity on her part.
· There remains a continuing doubt over the role played by Mrs. Landy's father, Adam Kingsley. All the evidence points to extreme hostility between him and Mr. Landy. It is clear that he opposed the relationship from the outset and was deeply angry when the marriage took place without his knowledge. He refused ever to speak to his son-in-law, however phoned and was phoned by his daughter on a regular basis. Friends of hers say she was upset by the gulf between them, but refused to pander to either man's 'jealousy' and continued to relate to both on surprisingly easy terms. Her only proviso was that she would never talk about one to the other.
· After a prolonged investigation into Kingsley's movements in the weeks leading up to the murder and on the day of the murder itself, Andrews & Meredith have concluded that while it was not impossible for Kingsley to have committed the crime himself (he was in London that day and could have gone to Chelsea between a meeting in Knightsbridge which ended at 4:30 p.m. and another in the Edgeware Eoad which began at 6:50 p.m.), they believe it to be unlikely. Kingsley refuses to give an account of his whereabouts between those two times, but independent inquiries, based on his movements in the preceding weeks, have elicited three witness statements which confirm he was with a prostitute in Shepherd's Market. This is a regular occurrence, and has been going on for many years.
