‘Windmill girl’, 92, accused by son of forging £8m will
A 92-YEAR-OLD former West End star is fighting her son who claims she forged her husband’s £8million will.
Onetime “Windmill Girl” Jobyna Watts inherited her husband Eustace’s estate when he died in 2008 – but their son Carlton received nothing.
Challenging the 2000 will, Carlton told the High Court his mother has “defrauded my father’s estate”.
MrsWatts says the claim is driven by “spite” and her barrister Matthew Tonnard added: “This isn’t how she should be spending her golden years.”
Her postwar dance career made her a star of London’s Windmill Theatre – famed for scantily-clad revue acts.
She went on to form a “Ricardo and Jobyna” double act with musician Eustace and they married in 1955, settling in Hounslow. He later ran a hotel and built up a portfolio of residential and commercial properties in west London, which Carlton, 64, claims was worth around £8million, before dying aged 92. Carlton says the will was “probably prepared after the deceased’s death” by his mother and a 1994 one splitting the estate equally between her, him and brother Fraser was the last will. His barrister Justin Holmes said a forensic expert raised concerns that the “pen pressure” of the solicitor’s and witness’s signatures was surprisingly similar. He also claimed the “angle of letter formation” on Eustace’s signature was markedly similar to Mrs Watts’s and the 2000 will may have been created by the tracing of signatures.
But Mr Tonnard said data analyst Carlton had his “mind set” against his mother. Motivated by “spite”, he put a sign outside his house which stated: “Jobyna Watts forged her husband’s will and stole his money.”
Mrs Watts insists the 2000 document is the “last true will” and she owns the assets as they were jointly held. She claims the estate was worth £1.1million.
Master Julia Clark adjourned the case for further evidence.