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The Strange Case of The Missing Earl
Part of Rantburg's continuing coverage: The estranged wife of the missing Earl of Shaftesbury has been arrested in Cannes on the French Riviera in connection with his murder, it emerged yesterday. Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 66, has been missing since November 5 last year after travelling to Cannes to visit Jamila Ben M'Barek, 37, his third wife, a former nightclub worker.
Jamila, A saucy wench with dark eyes and a taste for rich, elderly men.
Her brother, Mohammed Ben M'Barek, 40, was seized at his Munich home and is also being questioned.
Mohammed, eh? Perhaps Jamila was a bellydancer?
Police in Nice refused to comment on the case, but last night a source close to the inquiry confirmed the pair were "mise en examen" or put under official investigation, the first step under the French legal system to being charged.
For the past week Ms M'Barek has been voluntarily undergoing psychiatric treatment at a hospital in Cannes, from where she was taken into police custody over the weekend, said the source.
Checked herself into a private looney bin, working on her defense.

"Lord Shaftesbury's sister, Frances Ashley Cooper, was too upset to comment at her home in the south of France last night.
Her lawyer, Philippe Soussi, said: "The whole family is in a state of shock after hearing this terrible news, even if they had few doubts that Anthony had been the victim of a crime and even if it's a relief to finally know his fate.
"Both the family and I were certain from the beginning that a crime had been committed, now we know it was a sordid crime indeed. I didn't know Lord Shaftesbury but from what I have learned of him he was a man who was kind and generous but at the same time weak and febrile."
Rich, generous, feeble minded, one foot in the grave, Jamila must have had dollar signs flash before her eyes.

The developments bring to a climax a three and a half month police investigation involving police forces in Sussex, the City of London and France.
The aristocrat shared his time between homes in Britain and the south of France where he became a well-known face, frequenting hostess bars and becoming a regular part of the Riviera club scene.
After he went missing two days into his trip to Cannes, fears grew that he had fallen victim to criminals. He had hired a lawyer, Thierry Bensaude, because a number of strange events were beginning to frighten him. The peer suffered a series of thefts, including the loss of a painting which had been in his family for more than 200 years. He was apparently considering legal action against those he thought responsible.
Right away Mohammed flew in from Munich
on a red-eye midnight flight.
He held Jamila's hand, and they worked out a plan,
and it didn't take them long to decide that
Earl had to Die.

Posted by: Steve 2005-02-28
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=57657