About the book: ‘Who is Alex? Is he the gifted businessman whose interests have netted him billions of dollars, whose generosity and charm has beguiled the world’s elite? Or is he the cold-blooded killer accused by the French police of poisoning his lover? A ruthless but brilliant conman who made millions by creating a fictitious persona?’
Alexandre Despallières bewitched everyone he met with his disarming good looks and killer charm. But this had tragic consequences for many he got close to, as he left a trail of suspicious deaths in his wake.
Posing as a billionaire businessman dying of an inoperable brain tumour, Despallières seduced and married music industry legend Peter Ikin in 2008. Just one month later, Ikin died of a paracetamol overdose and Despallières was set to inherit his estate, worth millions, through a forged will.
As investigations unfolded, other suspected victims emerged, including Despallières’s own parents. Others narrowly managed to escape a similar fate, such as a Hollywood heiress, who Despallières convinced to adopt him, and conned her out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Despallières died in 2022, just before he was due to stand trial, leaving unanswered questions behind. In Love Until Death (2024), Chris Hutchins untangles Despallières’s web of deceit, and gains the trust of Despallières himself, who reveals his version of events for the first time.
About the author: Chris Hutchins (1941-2024) was an established author and journalist of highly acclaimed investigative biographies of the rich, the famous and the royals and public relations practitioner. His first, Fergie Confidential, was an intimate biography of the Duchess of York and chronicled her troubled marriage to the Queen’s favourite son. This was followed by a revelatory biography of the late Princess of Wales, Diana's Nightmare, and an acclaimed psychological profile of her, Diana On The Edge. Athina, The Last Onassis penetrated deeply into the world of the Onassis dynasty. Elvis Meets The Beatles was about the night he took the group to meet Presley and the serious repercussions which followed. More recently Hutchins has turned his attention to matters Russian with fearless biographies of that country’s leader, Putin, and best-known oligarch Abramovich: The Billionaire From Nowhere. The author returns to the royal stage with Harry: The People’s Prince. Hutchins died on 27 June 2024, aged 83.
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