French heiress, Helen Pastor was shot dead on the Riviera by bungling hitmen hired by daughter’s husband, who wanted her$13.2Billion fortune – Wojciech Janowski on trial with 9 accomplices
Monaco heiress was shot dead on the French Riviera by bungling hitmen hired by son-in-law who wanted her $13.2billion [£10billion] fortune
Helene Pastor, 77, was critically injured along with her chauffeur in Nice on May 6, 2014 when an unknown gunman with a sawed-off shotgun fired into her car as she left a hospital after visiting her son
Both later died from their injuries
Police quickly identified two men suspected of carrying out what they now believe was a contract killing orchestrated by Wojciech Janowski, Pastor’s son-in-law
Janowski, 69, will stand trial today along with nine others
Cambridge graduate Janowsk is married to Pastor’s 57-yea-old daughter Sylvia
After initially admitting to ordering the hit to get his hands on Pastor’s estimated 13.2bn, [£10bn] fortune, Janowski later recanted his confession, claiming he had misunderstood investigators’ questioning
The suspected killer, Samine Said Ahmed, 28, is also on trial and has denied the charges. His accomplice Hair Hamadi, 35, is accused of acting as a lookout
Janowski’s personal trainer, Pascal Dauriac, 49, admitted to organising the hit with his brother-in-law – ‘Janowski tricked me… He said his mother-in-law was a monster,’ Dauriac said
According to Dauriac, Janowski himself had scouted out the hospital and wanted to have Pastor’s son killed too
He allegedly paid $330,000 to the hired contract killers
Driven by greed? Wojciech Janowski, [photo] withdrew his confession to the murder of Helene Pastor, saying he did not understand ‘all the nuances’ of the French language
Helene Pastor, 77, was shot dead in Nice on the French Rivera in 2014 in a case prosecutors have compared to a crime thriller.
On May 6, 2014 an unknown gunman with a sawed-off shotgun fired into pastor’s vehicle car as she left a hospital after visiting her son.
The chauffeur died a few days later and Pastor fell into a coma.
She awoke briefly and was able to tell investigators: ‘I’m afraid, I want to see you again because I have more to tell.’
Before she could, she died of her injuries on May 21.
Police quickly identified two men suspected of carrying out what they now believe was a contract killing orchestrated by Wojciech Janowski, 69, Pastor’s son-in-law.
Sylvia Janowski, daughter of Helene Pastor, leaves the court room in Aix-en-Provence today as her husband went on trial.
After initially admitting that he ordered the killing to get his hands on Pastor’s estimated 13.2bn, [£10bn] fortune, Janowski later retracted his confession, saying he had misunderstood investigators’ questioning.
The suspected shooter, Samine Said Ahmed, 28, is also on trial and has denied the charges. His accomplice Al Hair Hamadi, 35, is accused of acting as a lookout.
The alleged murder-for-hire mastermind Wojciech Janowski, [eft] and the victim’s daughter Sylvia Pastor [right], have been in a relationship for 28 years and have a teenage daughter
Police forensic team at the crime scene investigate the car in which Helene Pastor was travelling when the contract killer shot her and her chauffeur on May 6, 2014
Fallen socialite Wojciech Janowski, hides his face as he leaves a police station in Nice, France, after questioning in 2014
They were caught on CCTV in Marseille buying mobile phones and boarding a train for Nice, where their DNA traces were found on a bottle left in a hotel room.
They are also seen waiting for Pastor opposite the hospital, having arrived by taxi after unsuccessfully trying to purchase a scooter for their getaway.
‘It’s the first time we’ve seen killers use a taxi to reach the scene of a crime – they did everything you’re not supposed to do,’ a source close the inquiry said.
Pastor had inherited a huge real estate and construction business set up by her Italian grandfather Jean-Baptiste Pastor, a stone mason who moved to Monaco in 1880.
Phone records also implicated several suspected accomplices who will also be on trial in Aix-en-Provence, just outside Marseille.
The hearing is expected to run until October 19.
Billionairess Helene Pastor was shot as she was departing a hospital in Nice where she had been visiting her son
Police activity at the shooting scene on may 6, 2014. Witnesses said the gunman used a large pump-action shotgun in the hit, in which both Helene Pastor and her chauffeur were both critically killed
The University of Cambridge graduate was the head of a nanotechnology firm and an oil business, and was said to be involved in numerous charities in the principality.
But prosecutors say his business ventures were not as successful as he claimed, and he was hoping the inheritance would help him recover even though he already received part of the $660,000 Pastor gave her daughter every month.
Janowski’s personal trainer, 49-year-old Pascal Dauriac, admitted to organising the hit with his brother-in-law: ‘Janowski tricked me… He said his mother-in-law was a monster,’ Dauriac said.
He also claimed Janowski himself had scouted out the hospital and wanted to have Pastor’s son killed too. He revealed that Janowski allegedly spent $328,000 [€250,000] to hire the contract killers.
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