Man shot dead in front of his wife and child
Murder victim and bride had featured on lifestyle website discussing their luxury wedding in Italy
A father who was gunned down in front of his family as they returned from a night out on Christmas Eve had featured in a wedding lifestyle website a year earlier, it has emerged. Flamur Beqiri, 36, was ambushed by a gunman and shot repeatedly yards from his front door in Battersea, southwest London. Debora Krasniqi, his wife, and their young child witnessed the murder. Pictures of the couple’s lavish marriage in Italy were shown in a wedding style website interview.
A FATHER was gunned down in front of his family as they returned from a night out on Christmas Eve, police said yesterday.
Flamur Beqiri, a 36-year-old Swedish national, had been yards from his front door in Battersea, south-west London, when he was ambushed by a gunman and shot repeatedly.
The attack, at about 9pm, was witnessed by his wife, Debora Krasniqi, and their young child, with neighbours describing how she had “desperately” screamed for help.
Scotland Yard said it was still working to establish the motive behind the attack, believed to be the 142nd homicide investigation launched in the capital this year. Swedish media reported that Mr Beqiri knew the partner of Karolin Hakim, a doctor who was shot in daylight while carrying her twomonth-old baby in her arms in Malmo earlier this year. The case remains unsolved. Last night, Scotland Yard refused to say whether they were in contact with Swedish police over a possible connection between the cases.
Mr Beqiri’s death comes just over a year after he married Ms Krasniqi in a ceremony on the banks of Lake Como, Italy, in October 2018.
The couple, who met on Facebook, had spoken about their relationship on a lifestyle website, which published pictures of their celebration, including the couple cutting the wedding cake as fireworks illuminated the night sky.
“There was always something special about our connection and bond,” Ms Krasniqi told the Grace Ormonde
Wedding Style website. “We could be many miles apart, and even though at that stage were only friends, we would spend endless hours over the phone. I became best friends with his sister over some time, and it was at her wedding where we actually fell deeply in love.”
Mr Beqiri, also known as Alex, worked in the music industry and was said to have proposed to Ms Krasniqi after flying both their families out to Austria for a Christmas break. She woke one morning to find the bedroom floor covered with 1,000 rose petals and her future husband waiting on one knee, the interview revealed.
It also emerged last night that Mr Beqiri was the brother of Missé Beqiri, star of The Real Housewives of Cheshire, who had shared a video of their wedding on her Instagram page last year. It said: “Congratulations to my best friend and my brother. I love you both to the moon and back. A true love story.”
Missé Beqiri was married to former Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard, with whom she had a son, but they divorced after two years of marriage in 2016.
Police are urging anyone who saw someone fleeing the scene or loitering in the area to come forward. Scotland Yard said no arrests had been made and a post-mortem examination was still to take place.
Det Chief Insp Jamie Stevenson said: “Our investigation is in the very early stages and we are still working to establish what the motive could be that has led to a man losing his life in such a horrific way, on Christmas Eve, in front of his family. We know that the victim was returning home with his wife and young child following an evening out, when he was shot just yards from his home. The assailant then fled on foot in the direction of Battersea Bridge Road.”
Neighbours living near the scene described hearing multiple gunshots followed by a woman screaming “desperately” for help. Vittoria Amati, 60, said she had heard from “eight to 10” gunshots fired in quick succession.
She said: “I then heard the screams of the wife. I came out and realised it was one of my neighbours.
“He was lying in front of his doorway in a pool of blood. He was still alive. We were really hoping he would make it.
“You have no idea how desperate she [his wife] sounded.”
Mrs Amati said a young woman who identified herself as a nurse helped the victim and applied pressure to his wounds.
Julian Stratton, 51, had been at his parents’ home just yards away. He said: “We are friends with a man who lives directly opposite the scene. He told us there were five gunshots. Four back-toback, ‘bang, bang, bang, bang,’ then a pause before the final shot.”
A 24-year-old man, who also lives nearby and did not want to be named, said at one point there were about 10 people outside trying to call 999.
Supt Richard Smith, of the southwest command unit, said: “There is no suggestion that there is any ongoing risk to members of the local community in Battersea.”
‘He was lying in front of his home in a pool of blood. He was still alive. We were hoping he would make it’