British actress found dead after burglars ransacked luxury home

08 March 2024 , 17:47

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Vikki Richards, also known as Viscella Richards, is said to have been found dead at her home (Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Viscella Richards has been found dead, aged 79, at her home in the Caribbean.

The retired actor, known by the stage name Vikki Richards, is said to have been found with her hands bound inside her bedroom in Valsayn, Trinidad and Tobago, on Wednesday.

Police believe Viscella was killed by robbers after her property was found ransacked. Authorities said that there were no other marks of violence on her body. Local police are said to be investigating after her body was found by a carer on her bedroom floor. But it's claimed that she may have suffered a heart attack after no marks were found on her body.

Paying tribute, a relative told Newsday: "She was just beautiful, and I don't mean in just appearance, but her soul was beautiful." They added that despite retiring, the late actor didn't stop performing, with her having worked with a theatre group and on other projects. The relative said: "She was an outgoing person. She loved to perform - she never stopped."

The actor Viscella Richards is said to have been found dead at her home in the Caribbean (Jimmy James/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)

She's understood to have been known under her stage name Vikki Richards during her career (Getty Images)

Viscella - whose film credits are said to include Zeta One (1969) and Black Snake (1973) - is said to have relocated from the country to the UK as a child, before returning to the Caribbean later in life. The former actor - who a relative said had dementia - reportedly lived alone prior to her death.

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The Sun reports that her friend, barrister Sir Timothy Cassel KC, said that the gate and door were open when she was found. He speculated: "So whoever was there was let in by her. Whether she knew them or not, or whether they manipulated her vulnerability, who knows? It's terribly sad." It's been reported that the hard drive from the security cameras were stolen.

It's claimed that the late actor's body was discovered by a friend who went to her home to check on Viscella after being unable to get in contact since Tuesday evening. The friend is said to have found the front gate closed but the front door "ajar," according to the outlet.

An anonymous relative of the late actress said that she only returned to Trinidad in January, having visited the UK and mainland Europe in December. Vikki, who had no children held both Trinidadian and British citizenship after her family moved to the UK when she was just six in the early 1950s. But upon her retirement from stage and screen, she returned to her home nation.

Joel Leaver