26 September 2023 , 11:10
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A British woman who went undercover as a model could have been the real target of a professional hit on Jill Dando, according to legal documents.
Crimewatch star and BBC newsreader Dando, 37, was gunned down on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, West London, in 1999 in a crime that shocked the nation. A man named Barry George was convicted in 2001 of her murder but was later acquitted, and her killer has never been found.
Surrounding the release of a new Netflix series into the unsolved case named Who Killed Jill Dando?, shocking claims have resurfaced that the killing could have been a case of mistaken identity.
Lisa Brinkworth took part in an undercover BBC investigation at the Elite model agency in the 1990s (AFP via Getty Images)Lisa Brinkworth joined the Elite agency in 1998 as part of an investigation for BBC series MacIntyre Undercover, which aimed to expose the secrets of the industry. But the show drew a furious reaction from then-boss Gerald Marie, and he successfully sued the broadcaster for £1.7 million in damages.
The fashion tycoon was later accused of sexual assault and rapes by multiple women, including Mrs Brinkworth, and a set of legal papers filed by French law firm Bourdon & Associes against him stated that she was the intended victim of Jill Dando's fatal shooting. The allegations were based off recollections of a former executive at the company, who said he saw him instruct a member of the Russian mafia to "deal with a problem". It stated: "Shortly thereafter… a BBC journalist, Jill Dando, was shot dead in April 1999".
Netflix announces Jill Dando documentary 20 years after tragic shooting
The documents go on to outline how a mistaken identity may have occurred, detailing how they were both blonde female journalists in their 30s living nearby who had "similar facial features" and were "of the same height and stature". Both women also had people in common, including Jill Dando's fiancé Dr Alan Farthing, who had Ms Brinkworth as a patient.
Speaking about the claims last year, Ms Brinkworth - now aged 55 - said she hoped they were incorrect, adding: "Even if there was a tiny possibility, I don’t know if I could live with that, so I’m hoping there’s nothing in that. I try not to think about it. I really, really don’t want it to be true.”
Though Jill Dando's brother is among those who believe she was simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, others have also put forward the theory that she was the target of a hit. Noel "Razor" Smith, an armed robber-turned-writer, is interviewed in the three-part Netflix series about the 1999 murder, and says: "I don’t really want to talk about that for my own safety. But there are rumours in the criminal world. It’s not who you would think and it’s not Barry George. It was a professional hit."