JP Mcmanus grieving over sudden death of son’s wife
THE family of Irish racing magnate JP Mcmanus are grieving the sudden death of his daughter-in-law Emma.
The daughter of former Irish tennis star Peter Ledbetter, who was married to Mr Mcmanus’s son John, died suddenly on Wednesday morning in Barbados.
She was staying at a private villa on the grounds of the luxury Sandy Lane resort, which was purchased in the late 1990s by JP Mcmanus, financier Dermot Desmond, and horse breeder John Magnier.
It is understood that Ms McManus (40), originally from Blackrock, Co Dublin, awoke in her room in the early hours and complained of feeling unwell.
Sources said Ms Mcmanus was brought to a local medical centre where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
Members of the Mcmanus and Ledbetter families had flown to the eastern Caribbean island to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve together, in what has been a longstanding family tradition.
Emma and John were known by friends as “a very private couple” with three children under
the age of nine, based at a luxury property in Chelsea, London.
The couple married in Portugal in October, 2010.
“It’s terrible. As far as is known Emma had no serious health issues,” said one source.
“No one knows what exactly caused her death, there was no warning. Everyone is obviously devastated, it’s massively shocking.
“Emma was a vibrant, outgoing person and she was very well liked by everyone. Despite their obvious wealth, they are two of the most down-to-earth people you could meet. We’re especially heartbroken for John and the children. What’s happened is every family’s worst nightmare. John is a really compassionate guy, our hearts go out to him.”
A Royal Barbados Poli c e spokesman said they had ruled out foul play and were treating it as a sudden death.
A post-mortem is to be carried out on Ms Mcmanus’s body to help find a cause of death.
The police spokesman said that it was expected that “after the post-mortem, the investigation will be finished”.
He explained that local autopsies can take “up to a week”, but that this would be “up to the pathologist and the coroner”.