Daily Express

£300k bill for daughter over false claim about theft of mum’s jewels

- By Richard Gittins

A WOMAN who accused a family friend of looting her dead mother’s house must pay at least £300,000 in costs after a judge declared he was innocent.

Deborah Ziparo, 59, said churchgoer Christophe­r Martin stole her mother’s wedding ring and other jewellery she said had been put in an envelope for her.

The bitter row began after Lucille Maeda, 77, was found dead in her £700,000 home in September 2015.

American Ms Ziparo, 59, who had not seen her mum for 37 years, flew to the UK from New York two months later and claimed items worth £13,000 had “mysterious­ly vanished”.

After spending more than £100,000 on private investigat­ors, she sued Mr Martin, 61, a former executor of her mother’s will, at Central London County Court for the items and the costs of the probe.

But Judge Simon Monty QC cleared churchgoer Mr Martin, from Frimley, Surrey, of any wrongdoing and said “reclusive hoarder” Mrs Maeda, who was in financial difficulty, probably sold the jewellery herself.

He said Ms Ziparo had been “too willing” to blame Mr Martin and he believed other goods, including expensive watches and Cartier cigarette lighters, had been thrown into skips when the house was cleared.

An inquest had heard Mrs Maeda could have been dead for weeks and Judge Monty said: “Anyone could have got into the property and stolen valuable items without detection.

“Having heard Mr Martin crossexami­ned at length, I formed the clear view he is not a dishonest man and that he was giving truthful evidence.”

The court heard police found British-born Mrs Maeda’s body at her home in Merrow, near Guildford, after Ms Ziparo raised the alarm when her mother did not answer calls.

Mrs Ziparo’s barrister, Gideon Roseman, claimed Mr Martin “secretly attended the property on repeated occasions”. But Judge Monty said of the claim: “There is no basis for it. Mr Martin stole nothing.”

He ordered Ms Ziparo to pay Mr Martin’s legal bill, which could be more than £160,000. She will also have to pay her own costs of about £210,000, which includes the private investigat­ors’ fees.

Speaking after the hearing, quality engineer Mr Martin said: “This has just been a nightmare for me for five years.”

 ??  ?? Vindicated... Christophe­r Martin, right, was falsely accused by Deborah Ziparo, far left, of stealing from her late mum’s £700k home, left
Vindicated... Christophe­r Martin, right, was falsely accused by Deborah Ziparo, far left, of stealing from her late mum’s £700k home, left
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