Millionaire hotel boss stabbed to death on estate
Baronet’s partner in hospital as man ‘known to couple’ held after speeding 100 miles away
ONE of Britain’s richest men was stabbed to death in an horrific attack at his £2million country mansion.
Multi-millionaire hotelier Sir Richard Sutton, 83, was found dead on Wednesday evening and armed police arrested a man in London 90 minutes later.
A woman, believed to be Sir Richard’s partner Anne Schreiber, 65, suffered serious stab wounds and was airlifted to hospital where she was in a critical condition last night.
Sir Richard, a baronet whose family title dates back to King George III, was declared dead around 9pm on Wednesday at Higher Langham, near Gillingham in Dorset.
Armed officers arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of murder in west London more than 100 miles away at 10.30pm. He had suffered ‘self-inflicted injuries’.
Police said a Range Rover linked to the attacks was tracked as it sped across four counties before it was stopped in Chiswick. The suspect is understood to have known Sir Richard and Mrs Schreiber, a physiotherapist who runs a practice locally. He was taken to hospital, but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Sir Richard, described as an ‘old English gentry landowner’, had an estimated fortune of £301million, according to the 2020 Sunday Times Rich List.
He owned the five-star Athenaeum Hotel in central London and the five-star Sheraton Grand nearby. He also owned other hotels in Bath, Cheltenham and Windsor, and had farming and property businesses. Sir Richard bought the Moorhill country estate in Dorset for £1.4million in 2014.
He had divorced his Italian wife Fiamma Sutton, with whom he
‘Saddened and devastated’
had two children – David, 61, and Caroline, 55. Mrs Schreiber is believed to have three children. She owns and runs The London Road clinic in Sherborne, Dorset, which offers physiotherapy, osteopathy and counselling.
North Dorset Tory MP Simon Hoare last night led tributes to Sir Richard and called the attack ‘deeply awful’.
He said: ‘I knew him before I was an MP as my company did a lot of work for his estate many years ago. He was a charming man – he had a very good sense of humour.
‘He was politically astute and genial. If you wanted to conjure up a picture of a country gentleman then that was him.
‘It is a huge loss for his family in what is clearly deeply awful circumstances.’
He added his thoughts were with the woman in hospital, saying ‘one murder is shocking but a double murder would be chilling’.
A spokesman for the businessman’s company Sir Richard Sutton Limited said: ‘We are deeply saddened and devastated.
‘Sir Richard was a caring, generous and warm family man, who genuinely regarded those who worked for him as part of his extended family.
‘Sir Richard was passionately devoted to both his company and its people, setting the highest standards for quality in the hotels, farming and property interests within the group.
‘His loss will be felt by everyone within the company, those who worked with him and his family who have lost an incredible individual. Our thoughts are with the Sutton family at this tragic time.’
Several police vans were yesterday at the entrance to Sir Richard’s home while forensics officers worked inside.
Richard Gallop, a retired air traffic controller in his 70s, who is involved in the neighbourhood watch, said: ‘Anne is quite chatty. Richard kept himself to himself.’
A neighbour added: ‘It is just awful. You would never imagine something like this could happen.’
A local farmer said: ‘I saw a search helicopter with a spotlight overhead last night and then an air ambulance landed.’
Sir Richard Lexington Sutton, 9th Baronet, inherited his title and estate from his father in 1981.
His family own close to 7,000 acres of land across the UK – double the amount run by the Ministry of Defence. His company donated more than £240,000 to the Conservative Party in the past 20 years.
Detective Inspector Simon Huxter, of Dorset Police, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the family of the man who sadly died and the injured woman at this extremely difficult time and they are being supported by specially trained officers. I would appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the area on the evening of April 7 to please contact us.
‘A cordon remains in place at the address and there will continue to be a heavy police presence in the vicinity as we carry out inquiries.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘At approximately 10.30pm on Wednesday police stopped a vehicle in Chiswick High Road. Officers discovered that the lone male occupant had sustained a number of serious self-inflicted injuries.
‘The male was taken to a west London hospital. His injuries have been assessed as non-life threatening.’