Family of heiress who died in swimming pool sue husband over her £3.5m life insurance
AN HEIRESS was drowned by her husband so he could cash in on insurance payouts worth more than £3.5 million, lawyers for her family claimed yesterday.
Donald McPherson was previously cleared of murdering Paula Leeson, 47, after prosecutors were unable to disprove his defence that she had fallen or jumped in to the pool in a remote cottage in Denmark.
Yesterday lawyers asked a High Court judge to rule that Ms Leeson was ‘unlawfully killed’ by her husband, meaning he would forfeit the pay-outs he is due under life insurance policies he took out before her death in 2017.
At the hearing, barrister Lesley Anderson KC, said McPherson, 50, who was born Alexander Lang in New Zealand, was ‘a dishonest
‘This was not a tragic accident’
man and fraudster of longstanding who unlawfully killed his wife Paula by drowning her’.
Ms Anderson argued that he had ‘forfeited any entitlement’ to assets and insurance pay- outs. She said the judge, Mr Justice Richard Smith, could decide it was ‘ more likely than not’ Ms Leeson’s death ‘ was a result of unlawful violence’ inflicted by McPherson, ‘motivated by financial gain’. ‘This was not a tragic accident,’ she added.
McPherson – who returned to New Zealand following his murder trial acquittal in 2021 – is not attending the hearing.
Last week the family pledged to ‘never give up’ fighting to stop him ‘deriving any financial benefit from Paula’s death’, despite ‘astronomical’ legal bills.
At his murder trial, the court heard that in June 2017 McPherson, who lived with his wife in Sale, Greater Manchester, booked a chalet with an indoor pool in a remote part of Denmark. On the last day of the trip, McPherson called an ambulance, saying he’d found his wife fully-clothed in the pool, which was under 4ft deep.
That trial was stopped as the prosecution was unable to prove how she ended up in the water.
The Daily Mail later revealed McPherson had been jailed in Germany for embezzlement after £12 million was stolen from Commerzbank. At yesterday’s hearing in Manchester, McPherson was described as ‘a serial liar’ with 32 convictions for fraud or dishonesty. He maintained monthly repayments on the life insurance policies of almost £400-a-month – despite being £65,000 in debt.
At the murder trial, his lawyers had argued that neck injuries on Ms Leeson’s body were sustained during resuscitation. But through documents produced by her father William, brother, Neville, and son, Ben, Ms Anderson argued yesterday that Ms Leeson had been subjected to ‘a neck lock’ which could have caused unconsciousness within ten seconds. She said McPherson’s actions in transferring thousands of pounds to his bank later that day showed the ‘indecent haste’ with which he had begun ‘chasing the money’.
The family also claims McPherson was responsible for forging Ms Leeson’s will as well as documents relating to £800,000 held in trust.
The trial continues.