Deceased/Not Found UK - Gracia Lezama Morton, 40, Notting Hill, London, 12 Nov 1997 *M. Morton guilty*

Al Ka

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Surprised to see this case in random USA documentary about secrets of millionaire's mansions. Even though presumed dead Gracia is not listed on any UK missing sites.

Gracia Lezama Morton

_40533701_gracia203.jpg


Birth: 1957
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Death: Nov. 12, 1997
Kensington
Greater London, England

Musician. Millionairess.

Gracia Morton has not been seen since she left her west London flat to take her daughter to school on November 12, 1997.

Gracia was a former professional violinist.

Mother of Celeste.

Gracia came from a large family and was one of nine children.

Close friend to Anni Gallon and her boyfriend Alexander McDonald.

Gracia was considered an extrovert with a black sense of humour and a compassionate nature that suited her job as a counsellor.

Jonathan Morton was given a seven-year sentence for killing his wife, weeks before their divorce was due to be finalized.

Cause of Death: Murdered by estranged husband Jonathan Morton. Her body has never been found.


TIMETABLE

1985: Gracia follows her sister Constanza to Britain from Argentina.

1987: Gracia marries Michael Morton, an architect working on her sister's home.

1993: Gracia gives birth to a daughter.

Feb 1997: Gracia leaves Morton, taking her daughter with her.

12 Nov 1997: Gracia visits Morton to discuss their daughter's schooling. He kills her.

Feb 1999: Morton is arrested on suspicion of murder but later released.

Oct 2003: Morton is finally charged with murder.

Nov 2004: The first trial ends with the jury deadlocked.

Jul 2005: After a retrial Morton is convicted of manslaughter.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=93360152
 
1 August 2005 Relationship doomed from start

Michael Morton - known to friends as Jo - was 48-years-old when he met Gracia Lezama, a pretty violinist aged 29 just arrived in Britain.

Morton, a wealthy womaniser, was an architect doing work on the Ealing, London, home of Gracia's sister, Constanza, and her husband Peter Thomas, a professional classical violinist.

Gracia was also a talented violinist, who moved to Britain partly to undergo advanced tuition from her brother-in-law.
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In fact, Morton had only just divorced his first wife, Patricia, and had fathered four children by three different women - one of whom he did not acknowledge.

He was nevertheless besotted with Gracia and in May 1987 they married.
---
But the relationship deteriorated, partly because of his womanising and demands to be in control.

He had a blazing temper and was frequently violent towards her.
---
She sued for divorce, citing his violent behaviour as the primary grounds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3721140.stm
 
August 2005 Millionaire found guilty of killing wife

Millionaire architect Michael Morton was today jailed for seven years after being convicted of killing his wife. She had been trying to divorce him.

Gracia Morton, 40, disappeared without trace eight years ago after going to her estranged husband's house.

Despite extensive searches, her body has not been found. Police believe it may have been disposed of locally by Morton who had a professional knowledge of building work.

A jury at the Old Bailey today found Morton guilty of his wife's manslaughter but not guilty of her murder.
---
The defendant showed no emotion as he was led to cells - still keeping the secret of where his wife's remain lay and what happened to her.

The court heard how Gracia's car containing her mobile phone was left parked outside Morton's £800,000 house in St Ann's Road, Notting Hill, west London.

Morton, 67, told police she had asked him to look after the car and their four-year-old daughter. But it was not until six years later that police discovered CCTV footage of him making a secret visit using her keys to her Kensington, west London, flat.

Morton denied murder at the Old Bailey. He was convicted of manslaughter following a retrial. A jury at an earlier trial in November, last year, failed to agree on a verdict.
---
On the day she disappeared, Wednesday November 12, 1997, and with only a few weeks to go to the divorce, Gracia told her solicitor she was going to see Morton about it.
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He was eventually charged in October, 2003, after detectives built up a case against him. Gracia's family, some travelling from Argentina, and friends helped to convict him.

A neighbour said he saw Morton cleaning out his estate car on the Thursday and emptying the dustpan into the drain in the road. He then emptied the contents of a bucket into a different drain.

Gracia's older sister Constanza Lezama said she saw a rolled up piece of carpet in the back of the car on Friday.
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Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, who was in charge of the case, said he would be seeing Morton in prison to see whether he would give Gracia's body up.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-357808/Millionaire-guilty-killing-wife.html
 
He was sentenced to seven years in jail for manslaughter after the jury found him guilty of killing his estranged wife following a violent argument.

This week's jail sentence marks the end of the extraordinary career of the man dubbed "The Notting Hill lady killer". The Standard has spoken to former wives and family members to piece together the life and times of a man who was born into privilege and inherited a fortune but who was driven to violence and manslaughter by what those who knew him well call "a cocktail of evil".

TO OUTSIDERS, Morton had a near-perfect life. The son of wealthy parents, he retired in his forties after inheriting several million pounds. When he felt like a change from Notting Hill, he decamped to his cottage in the Cotswolds with his wife Gracia Lezama and their daughter.

But the man who cultivated an image as an eccentric Marxist intellectual was a compulsive womaniser who moved from conquest to conquest, leaving behind legitimate and illegitimate children. He beat his wives and girlfriends. When he got bored with a woman, he left her.
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One former friend who attended the Old Bailey trial said: "Jo looks and behaves like an affable Notting Hill gent but he is a manipulative, violent womaniser. He has caused damage on an epic scale. There are five screwed-up children, so many battered, abused women".
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He survived three police investigations and one trial.

Even today, after his conviction in his second trial, the police have no idea how he killed Gracia and disposed of her body. They have no forensic evidence and, crucially, no body.

https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-134802297/inside-the-chilling-world-of-the-notting-hill-lady

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/aug/02/ukcrime.sandralaville
 

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