When wealthy and well-connected Peter Ikin died in a cheap Paris hotel room in November 2008, the circumstances were suspicious from the outset. Just 32 days earlier the retired music industry executive, a close friend of Sir Elton John, Rod Stewart and Madonna, had entered into a civil partnership with a charming and handsome young Frenchman named Alexandre Despallieres. Despallieres claimed to be a billionaire businessman with homes in London, Paris and Beverly Hills. As the grieving partner, he had Ikin's body hurriedly cremated, and maintained the pretence of his wealth by spending hundreds of thousands of pounds that were advanced to him as the beneficiary of Ikin's will. Meanwhile, John Reid, Elton John's former manager and Peter Ikin's closest friend, was certain that Ikin had been murdered and his will forged. His persistence in uncovering the truth led to the arrest of Despallieres and two accomplices, who were charged with murder, forgery and fraud on a grand scale. With the trial ongoing, Chris Hutchins investigates the mysterious circumstances of Peter Ikin's death and comes face-to-face with this real life Talented Mr Ripley.
