Teazers lawyer killed

Say it with a sting.....

September 22 2011 at 01:03pm
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INLSA
MORE MYSTERY: Ian Jordaan, left, and Lolly Jackson outside the Johannesburg Magistrate s Court last year. A charred body, possibly Jordaan s, was found on Tuesday night. Picture: Mujahid Safodien
SHAIN GERMANER

A charred body discovered on an overturned vehicle on fire on Tuesday night is believed to be that of Ian Jordaan, the lawyer of the late Lolly Jackson.

While police could not confirm the identity of the man at the time of going to print, they said the burnt bakkie found at about 9pm on the Broederstroom Road near Hekpoort on the West Rand belonged to Jordaan, 55.

Provincial police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said detectives were still waiting for dental records to confirm the identity of the dead man.

Several media reports this morning said Jordaan had allegedly been kidnapped from his office after being lured to a meeting.

He was then reportedly murdered after transferring R1.8 million from his own trust fund to another unidentified account.

However, not one source of this information was willing to be publicly identified, or to speak on record about the crime.

Police have also been tight-lipped about the alleged transfer.

They say it will take DNA testing or dental records to identify the man, as the body was burnt beyond recognition.

Jordaan represented Teazers creator Jackson in his numerous legal dealings.

He was also tasked with wrapping up Jackson’s considerable estate after Jackson was murdered last year May.

Employees at Jordaan’s law firm say he went missing after meeting with a client on Tuesday.

He was meant to return to the office and pick up his co-worker and fiancée, 26-year-old Joanne Rizzotto, so that they could return to their Kyalami home. But a driver arrived at the offices, saying he was asked to pick up Jordaan’s laptop.

Jordaan was reported missing on Tuesday night by Rizzotto and her family, who logged the case with the Norwood police station.

The flaming wreckage of the bakkie was found several hours later, about 80km away, with the body reportedly burning on top of the undercarriage.

Jackson’s widow, Demi, one of Jordaan’s current clients and a “close friend”, told The Star that she was convinced that the man killed was Jordaan after she received a call at 6am yesterday telling her about the death.

However, she refused to say who it was who called her, or how her source was so sure about the crime when police have been unable to confirm Jordaan’s death.

According to Eyewitness News reports and a source who was contacted by The Star, the death was a hit job, triggered by Jordaan’s control of R1.8m worth of Jackson’s estate, money that had allegedly been transferred into Jordaan’s trust account a year before the strip-club king’s death.

The money was allegedly going to be used as a pay-out if an attempt by Mark Andrews – Jackson’s former protégé – to sue him was successful.

But after Jackson’s death, Jordaan had allegedly been told by Demi to keep the money until the Jackson estate had been settled, possibly to use it as legal fees.

Sean Newman, an ex-Teazers spokesman, was in talks with Jordaan after Demi tried to stop him from publishing a book about her and her husband.

Newman described the murder reports as “a huge shock”.

He said Jordaan had been trying to prevent the issue of the publishing of a tell-all book from going to court.

He denied allegations that the book was specifically about Demi, saying it was going to be a behind-the-scenes look at the Teazers chain, giving an account of Newman’s experiences working with Jackson up to his murder, and the immediate aftermath of his death.

The Star

Comments by Tango

The story of the good the bad & the ugly is about to get UGLY!!