26 September 2023 , 11:39
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The death of beloved BBC presenter Jill Dando is one of Britain's biggest unsolved murders, and while the question of who fired the gun still remains unanswered two decades later, so does an arguably more baffling one; why? Jill's brother Nigel Dando has shared his theory on ITV's Lorraine this morning, as a new three-part Netflix series, Who Killed Jill Dando? airs.
Nigel expressed his belief that Jill was not the victim of a 'professional hit' but instead, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. "We followed all the theories and the twists and turns of the case," he said. "But when you strip it right back and you look at the roads that the police went down to follow up these theories, at the end of the day, none of them really held water, there was no evidence. My theory, which I still stick to, I don't know how true it is, people may say it's quite fanciful but that Jill was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Lisa was working on a BBC documentary when she went undercover at a French modelling firm
Jill's brother Nigel also believes his sister was 'just in the wrong place at the wrong time' (PA)The docuseries comes one year after a theory that Jill was murdered by a Russian hitman in a case of mistaken identity emerged. Bombshell papers submitted to a Paris court alleged that former Elite model agency boss, Gerald Marie, wanted undercover female journalist Lisa Brinkworth 'dealt with' for exposing his firm.
In 1998, Lisa had been sent to join the giant modelling agency and covertly film for a BBC programme called MacIntyre Undercover. When the programme aired, Marie sued and the company had to pay £1.7 million in damages. Then years later, Marie was accused of sexual assaults and rapes involving at least 11 other women, and Lisa came forward.
She said she was a victim of sexual harassment while undercover. Legal documents seen by MailOnline referred to a conversation in which Marie was overheard by staff ordering a member of the Russian mafia to 'deal with a problem' - but it's suggested the assassin went on to kill the wrong target.
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The documents from French law firm Bourdon & Associes states: "Shortly thereafter… a BBC journalist, Jill Dando, was shot dead in April 1999", and draws similarities between Lisa and Jill, both being blonde journalists of the same stature in their thirties. Plus, they "lived close to each other and had people in common, including the husband of Jill Dando". Gynaecologist Dr Alan Farthing was actually Dando's fiancé, but Lisa was his patient.
Ex-BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth (AFP via Getty Images)As well as French court documents implying Jill's death was a case of mistaken identity, the Crimewatch presenter's final moments suggest it could not have been a targeted hit. Jill had been running errands that morning in Kings Mall shopping centre, after getting petrol and milk in her blue BMW convertible. She then stopped at a fishmongers to pick up some Dover sole to cook her fiancé dinner. At around 11:30am, she was shot outside her home and an unidentified man was reportedly seen fleeing down the street.
Her brother Nigel explained his theory of 'wrong place, wrong time' in detail on Lorraine: "I think if you were going to target her you would have to have a plan and that plan would involve knowing where she was going to be almost at any given time, on any given day. On the day in question, she left her fiancé Alan's home in Chiswick, she was planning to call into her home to pick up a few things in Fulham and I think she was then going to go on to the BBC. It was just a random visit that she was making."