Hockney’s ex-lover in drug arrest after death of assistant
DAVID HOCKNEY’S ex-lover faces drugs charges after the death of a 23-year-old man at the artist’s seaside mansion.
Dominic Elliott died from swallowing toxic toilet cleaner after a 24-hour drink and drugs binge with his boyfriend John Fitzherbert, who previously had a long relationship with Mr Hockney.
The inquest into the death of Mr Elliott, who was Hockney’s studio assistant, yesterday heard details of an apparent ‘cover-up’ surrounding the tragedy.
Mr Fitzherbert, 48, admitted he had phoned Mr Hockney’s chief assistant from hospital shortly after his lover’s death to ask him to clear his bedroom of drugs to shield the millionaire artist from ‘scandal’ because he was in poor health.
The assistant, Jean Pierre Goncalves De Lima, did as instructed, but when police arrived at the house minutes later he told them ‘I’ve just done a stupid thing’ and confessed to his actions.
After the inquest ended yesterday it emerged that Mr Fitzherbert is one of two men who have been arrested and bailed for ‘drugs offences’ surrounding the incident in March.
The inquest heard how Mr Elliott and Mr Fitzherbert had ‘partied’ in the house, drinking alcohol, taking cocaine and Ecstasy and smoking cannabis before falling asleep in each other’s arms, just down the corridor from the room where Mr Hockney was sleeping.
Mr Fitzherbert and the artist ended their relationship four years ago but remained friends, with Mr Fitzherbert continu- ing to live in and run the house in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.
Mr Fitzherbert then had a relationship with Mr Elliott. But Mr Elliott was said to be competing for his attentions with Mark Shephard, another household employee and school friend
‘Adverse publicity’
of Mr Elliot’s. Both men would ‘ingratiate’ themselves with Mr Fitzherbert for ‘gifts’. Mr Shephard was given a Land-Rover and taken to London by Mr Fitzherbert, making Mr Elliott jealous, the Hull inquest heard.
Coroner Paul Marks recorded a verdict of misadventure and said he was satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances or ‘third party involvement’ in Mr Elliott’s death on March 17. He said there was no evidence Mr Elliott intended to commit suicide, but that he was under the influence of drugs at the time.
Detective Sergeant Thomas Napier was asked by the coroner about the ‘clear up’ of drugs from Mr Fitzherbert’s bedroom to avoid ‘adverse publicity’.
Mr Napier said: ‘A decision was made no one should be arrested in connection with that. We felt it was more appropriate to investigate the facts around Dominic’s death.’
But outside court a police spokesman said two men aged 48 and 23 have been arrested on suspicion of drugs offences and released on police bail pending further inquiries.
There were discrepancies between the evidence of Mr Fitzherbert and several other witnesses.
Mr Fitzherbert said Mr Elliott woke him at 4am to ask him to drive him to hospital and never revealed what he had drunk. He said he saw the bottle of toilet cleaner – with a 95 per cent sulphuric acid content – and worked out what happened himself.
But a friend of Mr Elliott’s and several police officers told the inquest Mr Fitzherbert said his lover had told him that he had drunk the chemical cleaner before going to hospital.
In his evidence Mr Goncalves De Lima said he had been woken by a call to his mobile from Mr Fitzherbert ‘in a bad state’ early on March 17. ‘He told me, “Dominic is dead, Dominic is dead”. He asked me to go and clear his room of any evidence of drug use.’
He confirmed he had cleared the bedroom as requested.
Mr Hockney said in a statement he had been unaware of the events. He said he ‘greatly valued’ Mr Elliott’s work and was ‘devastated by his death’.